A Change In Circumstances
by snapefan520
Summary: Hermione Granger's life is upended when she goes to Australia to retrieve her parents after the War. What she finds is nothing at all like what she expected. Post DH, ignores Epilogue. Minor character deaths. Eventual SSHG romantic pairing.
1. Prologue

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and everything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling.**_

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Prologue

Hermione grasped the pen tightly, and signed her name on the final page of paperwork. Her hand had just started to cramp as she handed the papers to the receptionist. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that this was the final step of a process that she had started almost a week ago. _'Thank God, I'm a witch,'_ she thought as she signed Hermione Wilkins for one final time at the front desk. This would have been months in coming if she hadn't been able to forge documents and use a few Confundus and Obliviate spells.

She walked over to the magazine rack to find something to read to pass the time. She glanced at some of the articles, almost chuckling as she read _"Meet the Top Ten Bachelors in Perth!"_ She perused the shelves of unfamiliar periodicals until she finally found a battered copy of _Good Reading_. She had just sat down and flipped to the first page when she heard her name called.

"Hermione Wilkins?" The woman with the heavy Australian accent smiled at her and held a door open.

They walked down a long corridor until they arrived in an open area that was painted in soft pastels, with a garden scene painted on the largest wall. She noticed an older couple already seated, holding a small little bundle wrapped in blue blankets.

"Miss Wilkins, this is Abigail and Thomas Farmer. They have been Ares' foster parents since his arrival two weeks ago. If you need to ask any questions, they are willing to stay as long as you need."

"Thank you," Hermione replied courteously as she sat down beside the couple.

"He is a very sweet baby," the woman spoke softly as she handed the baby to Hermione. "He rarely cries, and he already sleeps through the night." A lone tear escaped the woman's eyes as she smiled at Hermione. "I know it is ridiculous to cry, but I can't help it when I hand them over. I've been a foster mother for years, and it doesn't get any easier."

"I-I'm sure it wouldn't." Hermione chewed nervously on her lip in an effort to control her own emotions.

"Do you have any questions for us before you leave?"

"Not at the moment," Hermione replied somewhat distractedly. She was stroking the baby's cheeks as she talked to the couple. "But I do wish to thank you for taking care of him. I really appreciate all you have done for him the past two weeks."

The older woman leaned down and kissed the baby softly on his cheek as they walked towards the door. Hermione watched the couple leave and couldn't stifle the small sob that she had been trying to suppress for the past few minutes.

She gently pulled the knit cap off of his head and ran her hand through the short, brown curls on his head. His facial features were almost a mirror image of her own, and she couldn't help but shed a few more tears as she watched him sleep.

She pulled his small body closer to her own and gently rubbed his back as she spoke softly. "Hello, Ares, I'm your sister Hermione."

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_**A/N... I would like to thank onecelestialbeing for being supportive, giving me ideas, and being a good listener when I had doubts about this story. And a very big thanks to Meladara for being my alpha, beta, and overall cheerleader. **_

_**I've tried to double check my Aussie facts, but forgive me if I have anything wrong.**_

_**Ares is the Greek god of war- I thought it went well with Hermione :)**_

_**I promise I haven't given up on Prisoner 5273. I had a horrible case of writer's block, but I now know where that story is going, and I should have an update pretty soon on that as well.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing.**_

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Chapter 1

Hermione placed the sleeping baby on the sofa in her sitting room, and then quickly did an Evanesco on her now-ruined blouse. Although she had finally gotten used to the nauseating after-effects of using a Portkey, Ares had not been so fortunate.

She glanced around the room and realised there was plenty that she would have to change to make it ready for a baby. It was a very small flat, only four rooms, but, then again, she had originally only planned on having it for a few months. There was barely enough room for her own possessions, let alone all the things she would need for a baby. Other than the handful of nappies and bottles in his diaper bag, she had nothing for him. He would need formula, bottles, clothes, more nappies, and as she looked towards her own bed, she remembered he would need a bed as well.

She sat down on the sofa as quietly as she could, trying to keep from waking him up. As she leaned her head back to try and relax, she couldn't help but think about how drastically her life had changed in just a month.

Her initial plan was to visit her parents and reverse the memory charm, if at all possible. She had arrived in Perth almost a month ago and had spent the first few days trying to find a current address. Once she found the house, she was surprised to find a 'For Sale' sign in the yard and no sign of anyone living at that address. It had taken another two days to find out that they had recently died in a car accident. She barely had any time to grieve when she found out their son, a son that she did not even know existed, had survived the crash and been put in foster care.

She was just about to fall asleep when she heard the faint whimpers coming from Ares. Opening the diaper bag, she quickly pulled out a bottle and a clean nappy. She changed him, and had begun to feed him when she heard her floo activate.

"Hermione? Are you home?" The familiar and somewhat loud voice of Ron Weasley echoed into her sitting room.

She carefully walked over to the fireplace, trying not to wake Ares as she sat on the floor to answer the floo-call. "Yes, Ron. I just got home an hour or so ago. How did you know I was back?"

"Oh, it was Percy. I guess since you were gone you wouldn't know he works for the Department of International Travel. He approved your Portkey to come back home. Can I come over and talk?"

"It's been a long and complicated trip; can I talk to you tomorrow?" They had not spoken since she left for Australia over a month ago, and as tired as she was, she didn't see any conversation involving a baby going over well with him.

"Uh, sure I guess. It's just that I've really missed you," he spoke much softer this time.

"I've missed you too, Ron. But so much has happened since I left, and I really need to get some sleep before we talk. Why don't you come over for breakfast tomorrow? Nine o'clock?"

"Okay, I'll see you then," and she watched as his head disappeared from the fire.

She carefully stood up and carried a still-sleeping Ares towards her bedroom. She looked around her room for a suitable piece of furniture to temporarily transfigure into a portable cot. Transfiguring a baby cot wasn't probably the safest thing to do since a Finite would be all that was needed to change it back, but it would have to do for tonight.

Gently placing him in the cot that she had transfigured from a small chest, Hermione covered him with a small blanket. She pulled off her blouse and as she started to remove her jeans, she remembered the small shrunken box in the pocket. She carefully put it on her dresser. She would wait until tomorrow to open it. It would be too painful too look at tonight. She pulled on her nightgown and then looked over at Ares one last time. As she watched him sleep, she couldn't help but think how having him was going to change her life forever.

_'Please let Ron understand'_ was her last thought as she climbed into bed and sleep overtook her.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione felt like she had just fallen asleep when she heard the cooing and babbling coming from Ares. Casting a quick Tempus charm, she was surprised that it wasn't even seven in the morning. She looked over into the cot and saw a smiling Ares looking back up at her. As tired as she was, she still couldn't help but smile back when she looked at him. Looking at him was almost like looking at her own baby pictures. His resemblance to her was uncanny, except for the difference in eye colour. Whereas she had her mum's brown eyes, Ares eyes seemed to be more gray like her father's.

She softly padded into the kitchen holding him snugly against her shoulder. She pulled the last bottle out of the fridge and gently cast a warming charm on it before giving it to him.

When he was fed and bathed, she laid him on a blanket so she could get dressed before Ron arrived. She had just finished tying her trainers when the floo activated. _'Damn, I haven't even started breakfast,'_ she thought as she raced into the sitting room, leaving Ares in the cot in her bedroom.

"Hermione!" He almost shouted at her as he stepped out of the floo. "I've missed you so much," he spoke into her neck, his hands running through her curls and then pulling her forward into a passionate kiss.

"I missed you too," she responded somewhat breathless after the kiss. "Let's go sit on the sofa. I have a lot to tell you. I-." But almost as if on cue, Ares started crying before she could even start the next sentence.

"Whose baby is that, Hermione?" His expression would have been almost comical, if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"Let me get him, and then we will talk."

She returned from her bedroom holding Ares, who was now perfectly awake. Ron looked at him and couldn't help the gasp that escaped.

"He- he looks just like you, Hermione."

"I guess he should look like me. He is my brother." She gently sat the baby upright so that Ron could see him better. "Ron, this is Ares. Right now his last name is Wilkins, but I am going to try and get it changed to Granger." She gently stroked his soft curls as she spoke. "He is three months old."

Ron was perfectly still as he watched the baby, not speaking for several minutes. "Why do you have him? Why isn't he with your parents?"

Hermione's smile faded, and she couldn't help the tears that started to fall. "When I went to get my parents, I found out that they had died in an automobile accident about three weeks prior to my arrival. Stupid drunk driver..." she muttered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I went to the courthouse to get more information, and I found out that they had a son just a couple of months earlier. Then I spent a few days trying to find him. I finally found him in a foster home since my parents had no next of kin listed." She pulled Ares into a hug to try and calm her emotions. "I-I couldn't leave him there. I forged some documents and did a few spells so that I could get custody of him as his next of kin."

Ron's eyebrows shot up as she had finished speaking. "You're going to raise him? Hermione, you are only eighteen. How are you going to work for the Ministry and take care of a baby?"

"I'm not sure Ron, but I'll make it work. I hadn't planned on working yet; I was hoping to go back to Hogwarts and redo my seventh year so I could sit my N.E.W.T.s. But now... I'm not real sure. I thought about asking Professor McGonagall, I guess she is Headmistress now, about sitting my N.E.W.T.s early so I can look for a job."

He looked at the baby and then back at her. He started running his hands through his hair in a nervous manner. "Isn't there someone else who can take him? Don't you have cousins or-or Aunts, or something?"

Hermione's jaw gaped open in surprise and anger. "I only have a couple of distant relatives, who I hardly know. I'm not about to let him be raised by strangers. Why do you think I pulled him out of foster care? He's my brother, Ron. I want to raise him!" Her voice got louder as she spoke.

"But what about us, Hermione? I thought that you wanted to be together! But with a baby...," he stopped talking as he stood up and started to pace the room. "This is just a lot to take in," he said a bit more calmly as he sat back down.

"We can still go out, Ron. I can get someone to watch the baby and -,"

"I just don't know, Hermione. I mean, we are going from me and you," he glanced at Hermione and then Ares, "to the three of us. I just don't know that I'm ready for all of this."

"Please, Ron. I know that this isn't going to be easy, but I really care about you. I want to make this work."

"I'll try. I just may need a little time, okay?" He gave her a sheepish smile and gently clasped her hand in his.

"That is all I'm asking for Ron. You'll see, everything will work out the way it is supposed to." She smiled back at him, glad to know he was trying.

Ron looked down at the sleeping baby, then back up at Hermione. "Blimey, Hermione. It really is scary how much he looks like you. All he needs to complete the look is a book in his little hands."

Hermione swatted at his shoulder. "That's not funny, Ron,"she said, but there was no malice in her voice. There were several moments of awkward silence before Ron shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.

Slowly standing, Ron headed towards the floo. "I really need to go now. I promised George that I would help him in the shop. He really needs the distraction now that- well, he just needs me to help."

"Okay. Tell George I said Hello." She leaned in to him, expecting a kiss as he was leaving. He tenderly kissed her on her forehead as he stepped into the floo.

Hermione had a small grimace as she watched the green flames die down. Although the conversation had gone a bit better than she had expected, the kiss on her forehead had left her feeling unsettled. Something between them had changed during the course of today's conversation, and she was pretty sure it wasn't for the better.

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_**A/N...I wanted to get this up quickly, because the prologue isn't much to go on. But the rest will probably only be updated weekly at the earliest. **_

_**Again I want to thank onecelestialbeing for the alpha reading and ideas, and Meladara for both alpha and beta reading my story. It would hardly be presentable without their help.**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise does not belong to me.**_

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Chapter 2

Hermione was exhausted as she Apparated into her flat. She had taken Ares to London to buy him all the baby items he would need. They had started off in Diagon Alley, but she had quickly realised there wasn't much for a baby in the Wizarding shops. She had found most of what she needed at Harrods, and what she couldn't find, she bought at Mothercare.

Hermione looked down at the baby sleeping in her arms. Somehow Ares had managed to fall asleep, despite the nauseating after-effects of side-along Apparition. She could have placed him in the transfigured cot, but instead, Hermione placed him on the sofa so she could watch him sleep.

Hermione pulled the shrunken items out of her beaded bag and enlarged them before sitting down. She looked at the purchases that now covered most of the floor and sighed deeply. The store-bought cot would have to be put together later, but at least that wouldn't be too difficult with magic. Her eyes were starting to get heavy after the long hours of shopping and it wasn't long until she drifted to sleep.

Hermione jerked suddenly, the sound of the floo activating causing her to nearly fall off the sofa.

"Hermione, its Molly? Are you home, dearie?"

A sense of dread overtook Hermione, but she swallowed quickly before nervously replying, "Yes, Molly, I'm home. You can come on through." Although she was very fond of Mrs. Weasley, Hermione knew the older woman could be quite bossy and overbearing. She had no idea what Ron would have told his mother this morning, but she might as well deal with it now.

She watched as Molly stepped out of the floo and walked towards her with a smile. "And this must be Ares. Can I hold him?"

"Of course, Molly." She carefully placed the sleeping infant into the older woman's arms.

Molly sat down beside Hermione on the sofa, making the younger witch shift uncomfortably. Molly looked down at the sleeping baby and gently stroked his arm as she spoke, "He looks just like you, Hermione. I'm hoping that someday you and Ron...," she paused and blushed slightly. "I know that Ron is a bit overwhelmed by the situation, but just give him some time."

Hermione forced a smile onto her face as she answered. "I will."

For several minutes, neither witch spoke. The silence was about to become awkward, when Molly stood up and handed the baby back to Hermione. "Can I help you make this place a bit more baby friendly? I can put things away if you would like."

"That would be wonderful, Molly. Thank you."

Hermione watched Ron's mum start to put away clothes and nappies, and then she placed Ares in his transfigured cot so she could help. They worked for a couple of hours and finished close to dinner time. Right after Hermione and Mrs. Weasley had said their goodbyes, Ares started to stir.

She quickly changed and fed him and then made herself a small sandwich and some tea. As she ate, she watched him try to push himself up onto his arms on his blanket. He struggled to push up for several minutes, and once he succeeded, he gave her a big toothless grin. _Oh, Mum and Dad, I wish you could see this!_

As Hermione finished eating, she thought about the small, shrunken box on her dresser. She walked towards it, but her fingers paused before grasping it. This was all that she had left of her parents, just a small box of memorabilia. Everything else had been sold in an estate sale the week before; only this small token was given to the foster family in case any relatives were found. She quickly grabbed it and carried it into the sitting room.

Glancing over at Ares to make sure he was still happy, Hermione placed the box on the floor and enlarged it. Tears started to flow freely from her eyes as she opened the box. Lying on the top was a small, clear bag containing her parents' wedding bands, along with her mum's engagement ring. As she pulled the rings out, she noticed there were traces of blood in the diamond setting of her mum's ring. _ Of course she was wearing it when she died. She never took her rings off._

Below the ring were some framed photos of just the two of them. Many were familiar to Hermione; they had been on the mantel before she had tampered with their memories. After a moment of searching, she finally found some that she had never seen before, one taken at sunset of her parents in front of the Sydney Opera House, and another that appeared to be somewhere in the Australian Outback. She stifled a small sob when she pulled out a recent picture of her mum, her arms cradling her very pregnant stomach. The picture was dated February of 1998, so it would have been just a few months before Ares was born.

As she sorted through the pictures in the box, she felt a book at the very bottom. It was a baby book, and she had to steady the shaking in her hands before she opened it. She read through the first page, placing her fingers along the lines of her mother's familiar handwriting.

_**Baby's Name: Ares Wendell Wilkins**_

_**Date of Birth: 2 May 1998**_

_**Vital Statistics: weight- 3.86 kg, length- 53 cm**_

_**Parents: Wendell and Monica Wilkins**_

She was stunned when she read his date of birth. He was born the same day as the Battle of Hogwarts. A new life borne the same day that so many other lives were lost. Again, she had to pause to regain control of her emotions.

Hermione flipped through the pages, seeing more pictures of her mother's pregnancy and then paused on a page of sonogram pictures. On the opposite page, her mother had journaled about her pregnancy.

_**We found out we were going to have you in September. Your dad and I were quite surprised. We had never planned on having kids and had only arrived in Australia just a few months earlier. We honestly thought that we were too old to have children, but we were obviously wrong. I went to see the doctor just as soon as I found out I was pregnant, since your dad and I are older than most parents. We were so excited to get a sonogram showing how healthy you are. **_

_**When the time came to find out whether you were a boy or girl, we didn't want to find out. There are very few good surprises in life, but we wanted this to be one of them. But we have names picked out either way. Your father and I have always liked names with meaning, and since we both enjoy Greek mythology, we picked names to reflect that. If you are a girl we have chosen the name Hermione Monica, and if you are a boy, you will be Ares Wendell. **_

_**Despite my advanced age, I have had an easy pregnancy so far. Other than some mild heartburn and some slight swelling in my feet, I have never felt better. I am so excited to meet you in May, my wonderful child.**_

Hermione put the book down and started sobbing uncontrollably. Her parents had been so excited to have this new baby, Ares, and yet, they only had two months with him. He would never remember the two months that he spent with them, surrounded by love. She felt so guilty that she herself had experienced seventeen years with their parents; her brother would never know what wonderful people they had been.

After calming herself, Hermione picked up the baby book and began to flip through the pages. There was a short birth announcement from the local paper, followed by several pages of pictures. She saw the tired but happy expression on her mum's face as she held Ares for the first time in hospital, and her dad sleeping on the sofa with Ares sleeping beside him. As she flipped to the final page, there was an envelope that contained her mother's hospital bracelet, along with a sheet of paper that had Ares' newborn footprints tucked into it.

She gently placed everything back into the box and glanced over at Ares again. He had fallen asleep while she was looking through the box, and now slept peacefully, except for the occasional movements of his mouth as he sucked on his thumb. She smiled as she remembered her mum telling her that she had been a thumb-sucker as well.

Hermione picked up Ares and carried him to the much sturdier cot that Mrs. Weasley and she had assembled. As she covered him up and then readied herself for bed, Hermione fell asleep, dreaming of happier times with her parents.

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_**A/N...I would like to thank my beta Meladara for putting up with my endless questions on this chapter, not to mention the initially pretty poor grammar.**_

_**If there are any Aussie mistakes, please forgive me. I don't know how OB/GYN care is in Australia, so anything in this story relating to it is based on my experiences in the US system.**_

_**Like always, reviews are always appreciated!**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**The usual disclaimer applies. Anything you recognise does not belong to me, and I make no money from this story.**_

_**My Halloween present to you all; an update a couple of days early!**_

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Chapter 3

Hermione woke up suddenly, startled from some unremembered nightmare. She glanced over at Ares, and took a deep breath when she realised he was still asleep. She looked out the window and decided to go ahead and get up when she saw that the sun was starting to rise. Quietly padding to the sitting room, she began to compose a letter to Professor McGonagall.

Ron had made some valid points when they had their talk; she really hadn't given much thought to her future and none to what she would do with Ares whilst she was working. But no matter what, she needed to take her N.E.W.T.s to do almost any job in the wizarding world.

Hermione quickly penned a letter to the Headmistress. She would post it later in Hogsmeade, since she did not have an owl of her own. Just as she had put the quill and parchment away, she heard soft whimperings coming from the bedroom.

She looked into Ares' cot and noticed that he seemed to be having a bad dream. His eyes were still closed, but he had a grimace on his tiny face and seemed to be shaking slightly. Hermione frowned herself as she wondered whether someone so small could remember being in an accident or losing their parents.

As she walked towards the kitchen to prepare her breakfast, she heard a light tapping sound on the window. She immediately recognised Harry's owl and opened the window to let him in. She pulled the parchment from his leg and began to read.

_Hermione, _

_I didn't want to floo call and possibly wake the baby, but when would be a good time for Ginny and I to come visit? Molly explained the situation, and we would love to meet the little man. Oh, and I'm sorry Ron has been such a prat, but I guess I'm not that surprised. But in the end, he usually does what is right. Just give him some more time to accept everything._

_Harry_

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she read Harry's letter. They had now been friends for over seven years, and he really had not changed much at all. She decided to go ahead and send him a letter as well so she would only have to make one trip to the Owlery in Hogsmeade.

_Harry, _

_You can floo-call any time after seven in the morning to arrange a visit. Ares is usually up by then. Give Ginny my love._

_Hermione_

Just as she finished her toast and coffee, she heard Ares cooing softly in his cot. Lightly lifting him out, she stroked his hair softly as she carried him to the sitting room. She was hoping that today would be a nice, calm day at home, unlike the previous couple of days.

-ooOOoo-

The quiet had lasted three days, but it was enough time for Hermione to get into a routine with Ares. After breakfast she would bathe him and then give him some time on the floor to exercise his little arms and legs. He usually took a bottle every four to six hours and would nap for about two hours after the first two bottles. In the late afternoon when he was more awake she took him for a walk in the pram. Hermione knew that by most people's standards her days were quite boring, but after everything that had happened in her sixth year, she enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Hermione had just finished Ares' bath when she heard the floo activate. Harry's voice echoed loudly into the kitchen as he spoke. "Hermione? Are you home? Is now a good time to come over?"

"Yes," she spoke as loudly as she could without shouting. "Just give me a few minutes to put some clean clothes on Ares."

Just as she finished snapping closed the sleeper on Ares, Harry and Ginny stepped out of the floo. "Hello, Harry and Ginny," she smiled as she carried Ares towards the sitting room.

"This must be Ares," Ginny cooed softly. "He looks a lot like you, Hermione. He even has your crazy hair."

"Yes, I've noticed that," Hermione gave a non-threatening smirk as she spoke. "But if he keeps his hair short as he gets older, it shouldn't be a problem."

As they all sat on the sofa, Hermione was the first to speak, "So what have your mum and Ron told you?"

"Well, I guess almost everything," said Harry. "We know that when you went to Australia you found out your parents died in an accident and that you found Ares in a foster home. You were able to bring him home, so I'm assuming you are his legal guardian now."

Hermione sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to repeat everything. "Yes, that is pretty much it. The paperwork normally takes much longer, but I used a bit of magic to push it through quickly. I didn't want him to stay in foster care and be raised by strangers."

"About that," Ginny started nervously. "Ron said that you changed your goal of working at the Ministry. He didn't exactly sound too happy about everything that has changed," she paused momentarily as she saw Hermione's grimace, "I'm not sure he told us everything, so what exactly do you plan to do, Hermione?"

"Well, I wasn't going to go straight into work anyway. I appreciate that we were offered honorary N.E.W.T.s, but I'd rather earn mine. Before Ares," she paused and stroked his cheek, "my plan was to go back for my seventh year and take my N.E.W.T.s. After that I figured I would work for the Ministry. But now... Now I am going to try to take my N.E.W.T.s early and then see what kind of job I can do whilst still taking care of him. I have enough money for the both of us for a few months, and hopefully I can figure out the job situation by then."

"Have you talked to the Headmistress about taking them early?" Ginny was genuinely curious.

"Yes, I've already sent a letter. I am expecting to hear back from her sometime today, in order to set up a meeting to discuss it."

The room was silent for a few seconds after the discussion ended. Harry looked at Ares and then back up at Hermione, noticing both had a peaceful expression.

"Hermione, I have to ask, are you okay? Your parents, Aries, school and work, it is a lot of changes." Harry had a concerned look on his face.

"Well, it is a lot to take in all at once. Losing my parents, raising my baby brother, and now trying to take my N.E.W.T.s early and find a job." She started to tear up as she thought about her parents. "But I will be okay. I have to be, not just for me, but for Ares as well. I am already so in love with him." Her lips turned up just slightly as she finished talking.

Ginny leaned in and gave her a hug, trying not to squeeze too hard since Hermione was still holding Ares. "You know that we both will be here for you if you need us. Let us know if there is anything we can do. And if Harry and I aren't available, come to the Burrow. Mum hasn't been able to stop talking about Ares, so I know she would love to see you both."

Hermione walked Ginny and Harry towards the floo, and hugged them both before they left for the Burrow. She was very excited that things had gone so well, but she was exhausted now and ready to join Ares in a nap.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione had just put Ares to bed for the night when she heard the familiar tapping on her window. Although she didn't recognise the owl, she immediately knew who the letter was from once she saw the familiar Hogwarts seal.

_Miss Granger,_

_I was very surprised to get a letter from you this close to the start of term. N.E.W.T.s are normally just offered at the end of the Spring term, but after everything that happened at Hogwarts, the board is willing to provide make-up N.E.W.T.s early this autumn for those that wish to take them. The date has not been set, but it will probably be in October._

_As far as the job situation, there is a job at Hogwarts that has just opened up, and you could start at the beginning of term. N.E.W.T. status would not be needed to start this job, and room and board would be provided just as they are to the rest of the staff at Hogwarts._

_Please reply if you are interested to set up a time to discuss this more in detail._

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Hermione was ecstatic. Not only would she be able to take her NEWTs early, but she would probably have a job as well.

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_**A/N...Thank you Meladara, for taking the time to beta this even though you are working on a few stories of your own! **_


	5. Chapter 4

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to the very talented J K Rowling.**_

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Chapter 4

It had been a hectic week, and Hermione was both mentally and physically exhausted. One day had been spent in Muggle London buying supplies for Ares, and then later on during the week, she had spent half a day shopping in Hogsmeade with Ginny to buy new robes. All she owned were student robes, and although she was very close to the Headmistress, she still wanted to dress nice for her meeting. Molly had been more than willing to watch Ares while she was in Hogsmeade, and as much as she loved Ares, she was excited for the time alone with Ginny.

After briefly stopping at her flat to drop off her purchases, she went to the Burrow to pick up Ares. Molly greeted her warmly as she stepped out of the Floo.

"I hope he was good for you while I was gone," Hermione smiled gently at Molly, then at Ares.

"Of course he was, dearie. Are you sure you wouldn't want me to keep him during your meeting with the Headmistress?"

"I appreciate the offer, Molly, but I really think Professor McGonagall would like to see the baby. But I'm sure you'll see us both quite often." She glanced around the sitting room, then grimaced slightly before speaking again. "Where is Ron? I haven't heard from him since I first got back from Australia."

The older woman's smile faltered slightly. "He's spent almost every day working with George. I think George has just been so lost since the funeral." Her voice had a slight catch in it as she continued. "I'm sure you will hear from him soon, though."

Hermione was pretty sure that working with George wasn't the only reason she hadn't seen Ron, but she wasn't going to press the issue today. She only had a few hours until her meeting with the Headmistress, and she still needed to go home and get ready.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione Apparated to the front gates of Hogwarts and Aries had begun to cry softly from the moment they arrived. She looked down at her new robes and shook her head in slight frustration. It didn't matter whether she Apparated or used the Floo; Ares still would almost always vomit on her from the nauseating effects of magical travel. She quickly cast an _Evanesco_ on her robes and waited patiently as Hagrid walked towards the gates.

"Ermione!" Hagrid boomed loudly. "Foll'r me, the Headmistress is expectin' ya." He cast his eyes down on Ares and smiled, "And this must be little Ares. He does favor ya quite a bit."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Hermione smiled as she followed the large man into the castle.

As she walked through the entrance hall and towards the Headmistress's office, she noticed that much of the castle repairs had been completed. Except for some missing paintings and suits of armour, it looked almost like she had remembered.

"She told me to tell ya the password is 'Resurgum'," Hagrid spoke as he headed back towards the entrance doors.

As she walked up the spiral staircase, it dawned on her that she hadn't been in the Headmistress's office in years, not since Dumbledore was Headmaster.

"Miss Granger, have a seat," the Headmistress greeted her warmly. She leaned forward and gazed upon the sleeping infant in the younger witch's arms. "What a handsome little man. Ares, if I remember correctly?" She smiled at Hermione as she spoke.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Professor McGonagall." Hermione spoke quietly, trying not to wake Ares.

"Please call me, Minerva. I'm hoping I will be seeing more of you after our discussion, Miss Granger." She started to open a drawer, but then paused and gave Hermione a concerned look. "Before we move onto business, I wanted to offer my condolensces. I was very shocked to hear of your parents' deaths. I'm sure it has been difficult taking on the responsibilities of a child shortly after losing them."

"Thank you for your concern, Prof-Minerva. It is a lot to take in, but having Ares has been quite a comfort to me." Hermione really did not want to discuss anything too emotional, and she quickly tried to steer the conversation back to the original reason for her visit. "I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to meet with me."

"You are quite welcome, Miss Granger, but I had no other meetings today. And I am always glad to have visits from former students. Especially former students with so much potential."

Minerva reached into her desk and pulled out a few sheets of parchment, then perused them for a moment before speaking. "First of all, the examiners will be offering N.E.W.T.s the first week of October. There were many in your year that didn't attend due to blood status. No N.E.W.T.s were actually given last spring due to the war. Since not all the students wish to repeat their seventh year, we are offering tutoring sessions before the tests for those wishing to take them in October."

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Hermione exclaimed.

"The second matter I wish to discuss is your job situation. I know that most all jobs and careers in the Wizarding world require a minimum of two to three N.E.W.T.s, and you will not be able to work in most fields until October. However, we do have a job opening here at Hogwarts. The library had extensive damage, and Madam Pince spent a majority of the summer getting the library ready for the students this fall. She had already thought about retiring, but after working so hard this summer, I think she is more than ready to retire now."

Minerva looked up from the parchments and smiled at Hermione. "She is willing to stay on this year to train her replacement. It would be just part time this year, but you would take over the job as Hogwarts librarian next year, if you would like the position."

Hermione started to smile, but it faltered as she remembered Ares. "I would love to, Minerva, but I don't know what to do about Ares. I don't have anyone to watch him while I work, and Molly would probably be willing, but...," she stopped as she saw Minerva shaking her head.

"That won't be a problem, Miss Granger. Although we have no married staff with young children at the moment, that hasn't always been the case here at Hogwarts. There are unused larger quarters with more than one bedroom, and in the past, the Hogwarts house-elves have always taken care of the children during teaching hours. Would that be acceptable to you, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, that would be more than acceptable," she spoke a little louder than she meant to, waking up Ares in the process. She sat him upright as she continued, "What do I need to sign to make it official?"

"I have the contract here on my desk. Would you like for me to hold him so you can read over it and sign?"

"Yes, that would help tremendously. He's just started grabbing at things, and I wondered how I would hold a quill without him reaching for it." She handed Aries over to Minerva and began reading the contract.

Hermione made it halfway through the contract when she heard the door open to Minerva's office. She looked over towards the door, then gasped softly as she saw who was standing there.

"Minerva, I just-," a voice trailed off as his gaze moved from Hermione to Minerva. His eyebrows rose sharply in surprise as he saw the baby in Minerva's lap. The man quickly regained composure, then spoke with familiar disdain, "I didn't realise you had visitors. I will be in my quarters when you are finished." He then quickly strode out in a billow of black robes, never acknowledging Hermione's presence.

"I-I hadn't realised he was still teaching," Hermione spoke, a look of shock still on her face. She stared at the Headmistress when she heard her chuckling.

"Yes, he came back. I had hoped a near-death experience would have affected his personality for the better, but no such luck. He's just as sour as he's always been, possibly even worse."

Hermione paused in her reading for a moment, thinking about what the Headmistress had said. Shaking her head with amusement, she quickly finished reading and then signed the contract.

Minerva looked at the contract, and then casting a quick spell to duplicate it, gave the copy to Hermione. "Everything you need to know about policies, procedures, salary, and quarters should be in the contract. I usually want staff here no later than a week before term, but you can come earlier if you need time to get both of you settled. Welcome back to Hogwarts, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Minerva. I'll try to arrive a little earlier than one week before term." She stood up and gently took Ares, who'd fallen back asleep, from Minerva's arms.

She walked out of the castle and to the Apparition point with a smile on her face. Even if there were other issues unsettled in her life, she at least knew that she would be able to provide for Ares while working at a job that she could enjoy.

-ooOOoo-

Although he billowed down the corridors with his usual grace and stealth, Severus Snape was deeply disturbed by the sight he saw in Minerva's office. Miss Granger, the annoying, hand-waving, know-it-all swot, sitting across from Minerva, with what appeared to be a Hogwarts job contract. And the Headmistress holding a baby that bore a very strong resemblance to said know-it-all swot.

He tried his best to think back to the vague memories he had of her in the Shrieking Shack. She didn't appear to be either pregnant or recently post-partum, but then again, he was on the verge of dying, and maybe his memories were just too vague.

Everything about the situation was both unsettling and intriguing. He would have to talk to Minerva and find out what was going on, and he would have to be subtle about it. But he had been a spy for almost twenty years; this should be child's play. As he entered his quarters, a smirk growing on his face, he carefully thought about his next move.

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_**A/N...Thank you Meladara and onecelestialbeing for the beta-reads on this chapter. Many, many thanks to you both! Any errors remaining are totally my own :)**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing; anything you recognise belongs to the talented J K Rowling.**_

_**Quick note: I have a lot going on in my personal life right now. Between personal issues and the upcoming holidays, updates will probably be closer to every two weeks instead of once a week. Hopefully I can get back to once a week once we are in the new year. Thanks!**_

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Chapter 5

Hermione shrank the last of her belongings and put them in the small beaded bag. She was still amazed that everything she owned, with the exception of the furniture, could fit in the bag. _I just love being a witch,_ she thought as she took one last glance at her almost-empty flat. She was leaving all the furniture since the quarters at Hogwarts were furnished, the only exception being Ares' cot. Ares was at the Burrow, probably being spoiled not only by Mrs. Weasley, but Harry and Ginny as well. She was hoping to see Ron when she took him to the Burrow, but apparently, he still needed more time and still was avoiding her. It depressed her that she would not see him before she started at Hogwarts, but she tried to push the thought out of her mind since she didn't want to force the issue.

Term would start in a little over a week, and she wanted to get both herself and Ares settled, along with touring the library before staff meetings started in two days. Staff meetings would be optional, according to the Headmistress, since she was only part-time, and technically the librarian was not required to go to staff meetings.

It was almost dusk when Hermione arrived back at the Burrow to pick up Ares. She was greeted warmly by Harry and Ginny, and they proceeded to the sitting room where Mrs. Weasley was giving Ares a bottle.

"You look exhausted, Hermione. Are you all settled in?" Harry asked as he made room for Hermione beside him on the sofa.

"Yes, I think so. And I am exhausted. Even with magic, it took several hours to get the rooms the way I wanted them and all the books on the shelf. Then I went to the library for a tour with Madam Pince, since I will start working with her in just a couple of days."

"You could have left him overnight. We wouldn't have minded at all," Mrs. Weasley replied as she sat Ares up to burp him. "It would be nice having a baby in this house, even if it was just for a night."

"I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Weasley, but I still don't think I am ready to leave him for that long, yet." Hermione stopped for a second, and then shook her head slightly as she smiled, "I sound like a paranoid new mother, don't I?"

Ginny, who had been quiet thus far, finally spoke up, "So where are your rooms, Hermione? Do you know if I'll be allowed to visit you since you will be on staff and I'll still be a student?"

"Believe it or not, they are only two corridors away from the library. I didn't even know there were staff quarters on that floor, but it will be very convenient. As for the visiting- I'm not sure, I'll have to ask. Surely I can work out something with Professor McGonagall."

"Will you be eating at the staff table?" Harry asked, not able to hide the curiosity in his voice.

"I think so, but I didn't ask the Headmistress. I know that Madam Pince has always sat at the Head table, but I don't know if I will since I am just part-time and will be training this year."

"What about Hogsmeade weekends? Harry is going to try and meet me occassionally for lunch, and I'd love it if you could come as well."

"I do know that I can go to Hogsmeade when the students go. And since I am not a professor and only part-time, I won't have chaperoning duties. So I will definitely be able to meet up with you on some of those weekends."

Hermione glanced up as she heard the loud grandfather clock chime the hour. She still found it amusing that Mrs. Weasley had let her husband put something so _muggle_ and so loud in their sitting room.

"Goodness," Hermione exclaimed as she looked at the time, "I better get back to the castle before they set the nighttime wards. I don't know if they have them set to recognise me after hours yet."

Hermione gently took Ares from Mrs. Weasley and after saying her goodbyes, Apparated the both of them to the entrance gate at Hogwarts. She tentatively pushed on the gates and was relieved to know that the wards recognised her and let her in.

She quickly climbed the steps and entered the castle, thankful that she didn't have to send a Patronus to be let in. Walking quietly towards her quarters, she tried not to wake the sleeping baby on her shoulder. The castle was eerily quiet at night and it scared her just the slightest bit. She turned sharply to look behind her when she heard a noise, and then felt foolish when she realised it was probably Mrs. Norris. As she quickly turned back around, she ran into a solid wall of black, or rather, a solid body dressed in black.

As she looked into the black eyes of Professor Snape, she felt like an errant first year all over again. "I- I'm so sorry, Professor Snape. I wasn't -," but she was cut off by the soft wails of Ares, who must have been startled awake when she ran into the Professor.

He started to speak, but paused as she rocked the baby to calm him. "Be more careful, Miss Granger. This stone floor would be quite painful if you had injured your child. I'm sure you wouldn't wish to visit the infirmary on only your first day." He started to walk off until he heard her speak once again.

"He's not my son, he's my brother. But I will try to be more careful. Good evening, Professor Snape." She spoke as she continued on towards her rooms.

Hermione walked towards her rooms feeling rattled by her literal run-in with the Potions Professor. He hadn't been rude to her when she ran into him, and although he wasn't friendly, he had been polite. Her few run-ins with him as a student had not been pleasant, and on at least one occasion, had caused her quite a few tears. As she entered her quarters lost deep in thought, she wondered how her relationship would be with him now that she was on staff.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione entered the Headmistress's office and sat down quietly in front of the large, but now familiar, desk. Minerva had asked her to come by to talk about how her training was going with Madam Pince. She really didn't have much to tell her, since she had only been in the library twice since she had arrived. Minerva greeted her warmly, and then reached into her desk to pull out a quill and some parchment. Hermione didn't want to be nosy, but she couldn't help but stare at a large, and rather ancient looking book lying open upon the desk. Beside it was a stack of letters that the Headmistress had begun to move into a drawer. Noticing Hermione's gaze, Minerva was the first to speak.

"I know you have always been curious; that is just the nature of most Gryffindors. What is it that has grabbed your attention, Miss Granger?"

"I'm sorry, Minerva. I really should mind my own business, but I couldn't help but notice the book on your desk. It looks quite old." Hermione was nervous and slightly embarrassed that the Headmistress had caught her staring.

"Oh, it is the register of all the magical students that have entered Hogwarts. It is very old and dates back to the Founders. It is enchanted with ancient magic. Have you ever wondered how we know to send letters to Muggleborn students?"

"I had wondered about that. Does it have something to do with underage magic?"

"You have always been very bright." Minerva smiled at her warmly, "It records the names of children the first time they perform accidental magic. This book has the name of every child that has ever entered Hogwarts in it. I have it pulled out right now to compare the incoming first years class size to that of the previous years. I wanted to see how much enrolment was down after the war."

Hermione looked at the book, and then bit at her lip slightly while she was deep in thought. "I-Is Ares in the book? I know it is very unlikely, but I just was curious. I haven't seen him do any magic, but...," she trailed off as she realised it was highly unlikely for him to be in it, even if he was a wizard since he wasn't even a year old yet.

"No he is not, Miss Granger. I was rather curious myself and have already looked. But very few witches or wizards perform magic before their second or third birthday. Some names don't even appear until closer to their eleventh birthday. Do you know what age you first performed magic?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I believe my mother told me that she noticed strange things happening to my toys when I was about four years old. She tried to ignore it, and she told herself she was imagining things. She was quite relieved when I received my Hogwarts letter because it explained so much."

"Well, then," Minerva commented as she closed the book and put away the rest of the letters, "I wouldn't worry. He still has plenty of time to show magical ability if he is a wizard. Now, I wanted to know how your training with Madam Pince is working out so far."

Hermione fidgeted slightly before answering, "I've only been to the library twice so far, but it doesn't seem to be complicated thus far. She has taught me the charms that automatically file the returned books in their correct places on the shelves, and she has also shown me the layout of the library and told me the Restricted Section's passwords."

"Good. It sounds like everything is going well. If she hasn't already told you, the staff can check out an unlimited number of books, but they are still required to return them in a timely manner just like the students. I really don't think that should be much of a problem. In fact, there are probably a few members on staff that have not checked out books since their days as students at Hogwarts." She paused for a second, and then chuckled lightly as a thought crossed her mind. "Well, Professor Snape might be the only one who would give you any trouble. Despite having his own extensive library, he checks out books quite often. Madam Pince can help you if he gives you any trouble about returning the books. Apparently, he has a knack for doing that, if her complaints in the staffroom are to be taken seriously."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at that mental image. Madam Pince could be quite strict, and it amused her to think of the strict librarian fussing at the Potions Professor as well.

"I hate to cut this short, Miss Granger, but I have a meeting with the Governors in less than an hour about some budget issues, and I need to prepare for it. Just let me know if you have any problems or need anything before the start of term."

Hermione walked towards her quarters in a very good mood. Everything thus far was working out even better than she had expected. It looked like she was going to enjoy working in the library, and Ares was doing very well with the Hogwarts house elves. If she could just work out the problems with Ron, her life would be pretty close to perfect.

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_**A/N (2)... Thanks again to Meladara for the beta on this chapter! **_

_**I'm not sure exactly how long this will be since it is a WIP, but I am up to chapter 8 and nowhere near the conclussion. I'm guesing somewhere between 20 and 30 chapters, but we will see.**_

_**As always, reviews are much appreciated!**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to the very talented J K Rowling.**_

_**My life is crazy at the moment, and I will be submersed in the land of pink and purple celebrating my daughter's second birthday this weekend, and then Christmas isn't too far off. Hopefully I can get another update in before the holidays. Thanks for your patience with my erratic posting schedule!**_

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Chapter 6

Hermione quietly followed Madam Pince to the staffroom. This would be her first meeting as an official member of staff, and she was quietly seething because she was the last one to arrive. She had been helping Madam Pince in the library, and they had only left at the last possible second to go to the meeting. Hermione detested tardiness, and yet, she was the one interrupting the Headmistress as she closed the door behind her. Quickly glancing around the room, she noticed that the only available seat was next to Professor Snape. He gave her an obvious look of disdain as she quickly sat down beside him.

"Back to the announcements," Minerva continued, after the interruption by the late arrivals, "we would like to welcome Miss Hermione Granger as Madam's Pince's assistant. She will be taking over the position of librarian when Madam Pince retires at the end of Spring term." She glanced over at Hermione and gave her a reassuring smile. "And for the first time in many years, we will have small children in Hogwarts. Miss Granger's brother, Ares, will be living with her as well. Please make both of them feel welcome."

Hermione forced a smile but squirmed slightly in her seat. Although she was glad that the Headmistress had mentioned Ares, she was now slightly worried that she would be asked questions about her brother that would open up still unhealed wounds. Taking a few calming breaths, she then exhaled softly as she realised that none of the staff was paying her any attention.

The rest of the staff meeting passed fairly quickly, with only brief announcements about Hogsmeade chaperoning duties and nightly patrols. Hermione was very thankful that she was able to leave the meeting without being questioned by any of her co-workers. She was anxious to get back to Ares and then try to get a good night's sleep before the sorting tomorrow night.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione arrived to the sorting feast early, just as Minerva had requested. A frown formed on her face as she noticed all the staff was already seated. _Of course, it would have to be the only seat left,_ she thought to herself as she walked to the empty seat next to Professor Snape. She tried to be courteous and greeted him warmly as she sat down beside him. "Good evening, Professor Snape."

"Miss Granger," he said tersely and then proceeded to look at the doors to the Great Hall as if they were the most fascinating thing in the room.

_Well, at least I tried to be friendly. _ She sighed as she looked towards the empty Great Hall, waiting for the students to come in. It was such a different view looking down on everything. It did not seem nearly as big as when she was a student. Hermione glanced at the stone walls, and then started to really study the room for the first time since she was a student. The room looked exactly the same, and had she not witnessed the final battle herself, she would never have known that anything that horrendous had happened here. Her melancholy musings were interrupted by the doors opening, and the loud boisterous voices of the students echoed in the hall as they walked in.

She watched as the tables slowly started to fill up with students, and noticed that the Slytherin table was only about one-third of the way full. Hermione wondered how many had fought in the final battle, and how many were now in Azkaban. Shifting her gaze to the Gryffindor table, she noticed that none of the students from her year had returned to repeat their final year. _I would have been the only one,_ she thought sadly.

She smiled slightly as she saw Ginny talking animatedly to another girl in her year, and from observing her motions, she was pretty confident that the conversation was about Quidditch. The only other close friend to return was Luna Lovegood, who was quietly talking to her fellow Ravenclaws.

As the doors to the Great Hall opened once again, she was surprised to see tiny Professor Flitwick leading the first years down the centre aisle, towards the Sorting Hat. She was so used to seeing Professor McGonagall lead the first years. However, she was Headmistress now, and it was no longer her duty, Hermione realised. The first years looked so young; she couldn't believe that she had been that small when she started at Hogwarts.

The song of the Sorting Hat began and she tried to listen; however, she quickly lost her focus as she began to wonder how Ares was doing. Now that school was about to start, she had seen very little of him except in the late afternoon and evenings, and it would continue to be this way through out the school year. She was very thankful that this year she would be part time, and she would have several hours to play with him and enjoy him between the end of her library duties and dinner. Next year, except for a few short breaks, she wouldn't be seeing him until after dinner every night.

Hermione looked back down to the sorting; she had already missed almost half of it. She tried to pay more attention and at least clapped enthusiastically after each child was sorted. With the exception of Slytherin, by the end of the sorting, she could see that most of the house tables were almost full.

Leaving the Great Hall as quickly as possible, she walked briskly to her quarters. As she turned the final corner, she heard a loud crying echoing off the walls of the hall just outside her door, and her heart ached.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione held Ares closely to her chest, rocking him slightly to get him to stop crying. Apparently, he had started crying shortly before her arrival, and nothing was working to calm him down. The house elf had tried feeding him, burping him and changing him, but his sobbing only continued to get louder. After trying for some time to calm him, Hermione finally decided to floo-call Poppy to see if she could bring him to the infirmary. As her feet moved quickly through the halls, she hoped he wasn't loud enough to be heard through the rest of the staff quarters. She would have used the floo, but Ares stomach still didn't handle magical travel very well.

"Oh, dear," Poppy exclaimed as Hermione walked into the infirmary holding a wailing Ares. "He really is quite upset, isn't he?" She walked towards Hermione and gestured for her to hand him over to be examined.

Hermione watched as Poppy cast several diagnostic charms, and slightly frowned as none of them were revealing the cause of his distress. "He doesn't have a fever, and none of the stomach charms have revealed any colic or stomach upset." She paused for a second, and then smiled as she thought of something else. Casting one more charm, she then let out a sigh of relief.

"I had forgotten the obvious, considering his age. He is cutting teeth, and an infant pain potion should do the trick. Unfortunately, that is not something we keep in stock, and the pain potions for the students would be too strong for him."

Hermione watched as the matron picked up a small square of fabric, and then cast a charm on it. "This will help for now; it is charmed to stay cold for several hours. You can put it in his mouth, and let him chew on it, and it should dull the pain. I will floo Severus and have him make you a pain potion." Noticing Hermione's discomfort with the proclamation, she continued on, "He makes all the potions for the infirmary, dear. One more potion isn't going to matter."

She thanked Poppy and started walking back to her quarters. Ares was chewing on the square of fabric vigorously and only fussing slightly as they manoeuvred the corridors.

Hermione slowly sat on her small sofa, holding a much more content Ares. As she gazed into the fire and was still for the first time in hours, she noticed how tired she was. Ares, too, was starting to get sleepy, and Hermione thought that maybe a short nap would do her good as well.

Hermione was jolted awake by a sharp knock on her door and wondered who would be at her quarters this late in the evening. She repositioned the sleeping baby onto her shoulder, to free her hands, and then walked briskly towards the door. Before she could answer it, another knock sounded, this one louder than before.

"Hold on, I'm coming," she voiced as loudly as she could without shouting. Her irritation at being woken suddenly, and then the repeat knocking was beginning to show. Between the knocking and raised voice, Ares had awoken, only to resume his screaming once again.

She pulled the door open suddenly, but the harsh words she was going to speak died quickly on her lips. Professor Snape was standing there, a scowl on his face and holding up a small vial. "I was told you needed this tonight, Miss Granger. But if that is not the case...," he turned sharply and started to step away from the door.

"Wait!" she cried. "I really do need the potion. I'm sorry I snapped at you, but we've had a rough evening. I really appreciate you making it for him tonight. Thank you."

He turned around to give her the vial, and just as she reached her hand out to grasp it, Ares let out a small gurgle before vomiting all over the Potions Professor's extended arm. Hermione's mouth gaped open in mortification. "I-I'm so sorry Professor Snape," was all that would come out.

Hermione watched as he silently cast an Evanesco and then looked at her with one eyebrow slightly raised and a slight smirk. There was no trace of anger in his voice, and had she not known the man for over seven years, she would have sworn he was amused. "Obviously he does need the potion. Good evening, Miss Granger."

Hermione walked quietly back into her sitting room and quickly gave Ares the potion. Almost instantly his little body became less tense, and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. After placing him in his cot, she walked back to her sofa and reflected on the awkward encounter with Professor Snape. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about it. Not only did she yell at him before she opened the door, but Ares vomited on him as well. And he wasn't even angry; he actually seemed somewhat amused at the situation. She began to wonder what else about the man would surprise her.

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_**A/N...As always, thank you Meladara for the beta! This story reads so much better thanks to your input!**_

_**I had so much fun writing this chapter. The vomiting scene was inspired by one of my favorite humourous scenes in the HBP. I loved Snape's expression when Cormac vomited on his shoes, and I had just recently watched the movie prior to writing this chapter.**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to the very talented J K Rowling.**_

_**FYI...This will probably be the last update until after Christmas. I still haven't finished my shopping, and so fanfiction will have to take a backseat for the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience!**_

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Chapter 7

The first two weeks of term had passed quickly, and Hermione just now felt like she was getting into a routine. Hermione's work day began with her reporting to Madam Pince just after breakfast and continued until mid-afternoon. Hermione loved working in the library, the feel of the books under her fingers, the weight of them as she carried them to be re-shelved. She loved the quiet and peace the filled the library each days, which allowed her mind to think while she worked through her daily tasks. However, Hermione often found that, in the silence, she missed Ares all the more and she was very thankful that at lunch she could rush back to the privacy of her own rooms to play with Ares for a short time. It was a routine that she enjoyed and fit her well for the most part. Though, the favorite time of her day came in the evenings, when she was able to play and cuddle with Ares until his bedtime.)

Most evenings Hermione was too exhausted to do anything but fall into bed after Ares was asleep, but twice she had been invited to an after-dinner dessert with the Headmistress and had readily accepted. It was an interesting experience, getting to know a former teacher as a colleague and friend, and she found that she quite enjoyed spending time with Minerva. In fact, most of the teachers had been quite welcoming and friendly to her.

The third week of term had started out very similar to the first two, and by Wednesday Hermione was looking forward to enjoying the weekend. She had gone to the Great Hall for breakfast, and, for the first time since she had been back at Hogwarts, she saw an owl heading towards her with mail. Hermione couldn't suppress her excitement when she recognised the small owl as Pigwidgeon or just Pig as Ron was apt to call him. She quickly pulled the letter from the owl and unrolled it to hopefully reveal good news.

_Hermione,_

_I know it is short notice, but George has given me the weekend off from the shop. Ginny has owled Harry about meeting in Hogsmeade on Saturday, and I was wondering if you would join us for lunch. I've had a bit of time to think, and I've really missed you. Please owl back that you will join us._

_Ron_

Hermione could hardly contain her excitement. It had been weeks since she had talked to Ron, but it seemed that he finally had had enough time to get used to the idea of her raising Ares. Tucking the parchment into her robes, she left the Great Hall with a smile on her face.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione glanced in the mirror one last time before heading out the door. She had pulled her hair up into an elegant twist and had worn her most flattering robes. Applying a small amount of lip gloss to finish the look, she headed out of the bathroom.

After making sure the house-elf had everything under control with Ares, Hermione left the castle and walked to Hogsmeade. She could have Apparated to save time, but it was a beautiful autumn day and the temperature was perfect for a late morning stroll.

Walking slowly through the streets of Hogsmeade, Hermione stopped outside Flourish and Blott's to browse the display, eying the newest edition of _Hogwarts: A History _that had recently come out. Had she looked behind her, she would have noticed the piercing black eyes observing her from only a short distance away. But she was fully engrossed in the window display and not paying any attention to her stealthy observer. Instead, Hermione was riveted by the newest edition of her favourite book, which had a full twenty pages dedicated to the Final Battle and demise of Voldemort. She was hoping to be able to purchase it after she received her first paycheck.

Hermione walked into The Three Broomsticks and quickly found Harry, Ron and Ginny already seated at a table.

"Hey, Hermione. What took you so long to get here? You left only a few minutes after I did." Ginny's words were slightly mumbled from the food in her mouth.

"I wanted to walk. It was too pretty outside to Apparate. Sorry I am late." Hermione replied as she sat next to Ron.

Hermione ordered her lunch and sipped on a Butterbeer as everyone started to catch up on all that had happened since the start of school. Ginny had started a conversation about the upcoming opening Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and Harry and Ron quickly became engrossed in the conversation. Hermione just sat there, patiently listening, but with no information to contribute to the discussion. She had never liked Quidditch, and she didn't even know enough about the sport to add any comments. As she sipped casually on her Butterbeer, Hermione simply nodded when her opinion was asked.

When her dinner arrived the discussion had changed to Harry's Auror training. Although he was only three months into the two year training programme, he was excited over the new charms and defensive spells he had been taught. Her ears perked up since this was a topic that she actually had an interest in.

"So how is a Verity charm different than Veritaserum, Harry?" she asked as she picked at her shepherd's pie.

"Unlike Veritaserum, which compels the drinker to tell the truth, a Verity charm displays a marker above the person's head and changes color when the person tells a lie. There is no compulsion to tell the truth, it simply just shows when they are lying."

Hermione nodded her head and continued to eat as the discussion about Harry's training winded down. Sensing an opening in the conversation, Hermione decided to tell everyone a little about Ares.

"He's starting to sit up now, and pretty soon he will able to do it all by himself. I still have to cast a cushioning charm behind him for when he falls over, but-," she stopped suddenly when Ron interrupted her.

"That's nice, Hermione," he patted her knee condescendingly. He then looked up at Harry and started to speak. "George and I have been working on improving the Skiving Snackboxes. We have been working on a new one he has dubbed 'Pox Pastilles' which gives a sickly rash. Since most of the Hogwarts staff is familiar with the Puking Pastilles and Nosebleed Nougats, we needed something new to attract the students. And he has a whole new line of...," but she did not listen to anything else beyond that. She was too mad to listen to him prattle on about the joke shop. He had not seen her or even talked to her in weeks, yet he dismissed her after just a few sentences. Her stomach started churning the more she thought about it, and she felt ill as she glanced at her half-eaten lunch.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling well. I really need to get back to the castle in case I am coming down with something. Goodbye, Ron and Harry. Ginny, I'll see you at Hogwarts."

Ron leaned into her as she started to get up and gently traced his thumb down her cheek. Any other time she would have loved this display of affection, but tonight it simply made her more irate. She jerked away at his touch, and he gave her a puzzled expression.

"But I haven't seen you in weeks, Hermione. Are you sure you have to go?"

"Yes, Ron. Unless you wish for me to be sick on you, you need to let me leave. Goodbye."

Hermione knew her voice wasn't kind, but she was in no mood to care. She was still mad over being dismissed by Ron, and she really was feeling sick. Settling her bill, Hermione walked out and Apparated to Hogwarts. She was in no mood for walking this time around.

As she walked towards the entrance gate, Hermione noticed the billowing robes of the Potions professor walking up the stairs and into the castle. The long strides he took, along with the flapping robes, gave her the impression of an angry, black storm cloud. Although she did not see him in Hogsmeade, she knew that today was his day to chaperone. As Hermione walked closer to the stairs, she watched him quickly turn towards her, an angry scowl on his face. Then, suddenly, Professor Snape spun around away from her and stalked away, disappearing into the depths of the castle. Though she was still angry and feeling unwell, Hermione couldn't help but smile as she walked into Hogwarts. _Some things never change._

-ooOOoo-

Severus stormed into his quarters and poured himself a Firewhisky before sitting down in his favorite wing-back chair.

_Damn and blast,_ he thought to himself as he downed the drink quickly. It burned going down, but he didn't care. _I'm a Death Eater, a murderer, and now I can add lecherous old man to the list. _ He threw the tumbler into the fire and watched as the remaining liquid hissed and burned away.

_And the day had started so well,_ he mused. He had to walk to Hogsmeade on chaperone days, and today he had been pleasantly surprised that he did not have to reprimand any students on the walk there. As he approached Hogsmeade, Severus had noticed a young woman looking into the window at Flourish and Blott's. Something about her seemed familiar, but he could not see her face to determine who she was. However, he couldn't help but admire her shapely neck, which was accentuated by an elegant chignon. She was wearing blue robes that flattered her figure, accentuating her small waist and the curve of her hips. He had been tempted to talk to her until she turned slightly before walking away. He paled instantly as he saw her face.

_Dear God,_ he had ogled a student. _A former student,_ his mind tried to amend, but still, she was younger than him by almost twenty years. And not just any student, too, but Hermione _Bloody_ Granger. He walked over to the bottle of Firewhisky and grabbed it. This time he didn't even bother with a glass. He sipped from the bottle and wondered what kind of hell he would go to for his traitorous thoughts.

* * *

_**A/N...As always, I want to thank my wonderful beta Meladara for making this a much better read. Without her, it would read like the Tennessee slang that comes from my mouth. Trust me, you would not want that...**_

_**Finally...a bit of attraction. Good.**_

_**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. I apologise for the lack of review responses- I will try to make more time for them after the holidays. Between Christmas shopping and my youngest son having pneumonia, responses have been kind of low on the priority list.**_


	9. Chapter 8

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise does not belong to me. **_

_**A brief note...thank you so much for all the thoughts and prayers for my son. He is finally over the pneumonia, and I am finally a bit less stressed and hopefully can get better about posting. **_

_**Meladara did a wonderful job beta reading this chapter for me, and of course, I had to change a bit and possibly screw it up. So any remaining errors are my own.**_

_**Now here we go...**_

* * *

Chapter 8

Hermione wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then quietly spoke the password to enter the Headmistress's office. She took two very deep breaths before finally working up the nerve to knock on the door.

"Come in, Miss Granger. Please have a seat." The Headmistress motioned to one of the wing back chairs in front of her desk as she spoke. "I was surprised to get an owl from you this early in the year. Is everything okay with your training? Are you having any problems with the students or staff?" She had started putting away stacks of parchment on her desk when she looked up and noticed Hermione's red-rimmed eyes. "Is everything alright with the baby?"

Hermione sat down and began to twist her robes in her lap. "No, nothing like that, Prof...er... Minerva. Everything has been wonderful so far. I have no complaints. And Ares is fine. He's more than fine; he's a very good baby. It's just...," she paused for a minute to try to control her emotions, but still a tear started to run down her face. "Well, my birthday is in two days, and this is my first birthday since my parents died. I took care of everything so quickly in Australia because I wanted to get Ares back here, but now... Now, I just want to try to get the closure I never had while I was there. I was wondering if you would let me have just a few days off to visit my childhood home and settle some things, before I meet with the barrister and sell the house."

Hermione finally couldn't hold back the tears, and they started to roll down her face in waves. She put so much of her focus on Ares since her trip to Australia, that it was just now hitting her how much she missed her parents. Although she missed them while on the run with Harry and Ron, she at least knew that they were okay. But now, thinking about her birthday, she realised she would never spend another birthday with them. This time, they were gone, and she would never see them again. The grief that she had put aside since she returned with Ares was now unleashed, and she turned her head slightly, hoping that the Headmistress would not see it on her face.

"Oh, Hermione," the older woman had a sympathetic expression on her face. "Take as much time as you need." She patted Hermione's hand gently and gave her a reassuring smile. "If there is anything you need before you leave, just let me know. I'm assuming you will be taking Ares with you?"

She forced a small smile and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Thank you, Minerva, but I don't think I will need anything before I leave. And Ares will be going with me; I don't think I could do this without him."

Hermione walked briskly towards the door, trying to muster as much dignity as she could after crying in the Headmistress's office. Once she had descended the spiral staircase, she fled to her quarters as quickly as possible, not noticing the black eyes that had observed her leaving Minerva's office in tears.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione held one hand tightly to Ares and used the other to steady herself after Apparating into the Muggle neighborhood that she had lived in. After walking the short distance to the house, she stood in the front yard and gazed upward at what had been her home for most of her life. With no lights on inside and the hedge overgrown in front of the house, it lacked the warmth that she had always remembered. She pulled the key from the front pocket of her jeans, then smiled when she looked at the keychain attached to it.

It was a big, white smiling tooth, and her parents had given it to her the summer after her first year at Hogwarts so she could let herself in when they were working late. She pocketed the key after opening the front door and then looked around the dark and dusty room. The electricity had been turned off shortly after her parents had moved to Australia. Her parents had sold their dental practice when they moved, yet for some reason they had held onto the house. Hermione had always hoped that, despite the memory charms she had placed on them, they had an attachment to the house... _and to her._ She had hoped that once she restored their memories, they would come back. Tears started to trickle down her face as she struggled to come to grips with the fact that they would never be coming back.

Ares was starting to wake up, and she cast a quick cleansing charm on the living room so she could set him down on the floor. Hermione pulled the draperies open in all of the downstairs windows, then slowly started to look around the house. They had taken most of the personal items with them to Australia, only shelves and furniture remained in the sitting room. She slowly climbed the stairs, then smiled as she touched a patched section of plaster half way up.

She had fallen down the stairs when she was eight years old, and broken her arm. Hermione could still hear her dad's voice from that day.

"_And that is why you leave the books in your room, and not carry them downstairs, Hermione. Your balance just isn't good enough, and instead of trying to stop the fall, you tried to catch the books." _

She continued to walk through the house looking for any fond reminders of the life she had both lived and loved. Picking up Ares as she entered the living room once again, she opened the back door to the garden. Hermione's eyes now scanned the flower beds that had once been her mother's pride. Wild vines now choked out the delicate roses, and the hedges were now overgrown and uneven. Looking at it now, it was difficult to remember how beautiful it had been. She had walked halfway around the garden when she stopped at a familiar place. Repositioning Ares to free her hand, Hermione started to pull weeds from the top of a stepping stone. As she grasped at the weeds, pulling so ferociously that blisters were now forming on her hands, she clung tighter to Ares as his knees dug into her hip. After finally clearing the weeds, she collapsed onto the cool grass and began to sob.

Through her blistering fingers, Hermione peered down at the stone. It was a stepping stone that she had made for her parents when she was in infant school, and from looking at the date underneath the hand print embedded in the stone, she had been five years old. There were small colorful stones surrounding the hand print, and the initials HJG on one corner. She dug her fingers in the dirt around the stone, loosening it from the dirt that had surrounded it for years.

She gently ran her fingers over the stones, and then traced the hand print. Chubby little fingers followed hers, and she couldn't help but smile as Ares tried to grasp the polished stones embedded in the larger stone. She gently twirled her fingers into his curls as he continued to poke at the stone.

"Oh, Ares." She leaned her head against his as she spoke. "Mum and Dad were wonderful parents. I just wish...," Hermione said, her voice trailing off as she began to softly cry.

-ooOOoo-

The next three days had passed in a blur as Hermione spent every available moment cleaning the house and tidying the yard. Although Ares had thoroughly enjoyed watching her at the house, she had a feeling that wouldn't be the case with the barrister. Hermione had been so grateful that Molly had agreed to watch Ares while she attended the meeting. Her original plans were to meet with a Muggle barrister, but Harry had convinced her that, with everything that had happened with her parents, meeting with a Wizarding barrister who was familiar with Muggle law would be a better choice.

Although the meeting itself did not take long, the paperwork was long and detailed. The house would be listed on the market, and the proceeds would be deposited into an account that had remained dormant since her parents moved to Australia. She had already settled all of their Australian accounts when she had been there to get Ares. The money from the house would be added to the money from the sale of the dental practice, along with the small amount of funds that they had in the bank in Perth. When everything was finalized the money would be converted to Galleons and put in her Gringott's account.

Hermione signed the final paper and gave it to the barrister, gently wiping a tear from her eye as she realised the finality of it all. She maintained her composure long enough to shake hands with the barrister, then finally let the tears fall as she Apparated out of his office.

As she arrived outside the Burrow, Hermione quickly wiped the remaining tears from her face. Knocking on the door, she was flooded with relief when it was Molly who answered.

Molly gave her a sympathetic look before hugging her firmly. "Would you like to talk about it before you leave?"

"No, thank you," Hermione replied, but offered a smile to let Molly know she appreciated the offer. "Was he good while I was gone?"

"He was an angel. I think the only time he cried was when he was fighting a nap." Molly glanced over her shoulder towards a back room. "He's still asleep but should be up any time now. Would you like some tea while you wait?"

"I really appreciate it, Molly, and I hate to wake him up, but I promised Minerva that I would be back by dinnertime. Thank you so much for keeping him for me."

"It was my pleasure."

Hermione waited patiently as Molly went to the bedroom to retrieve Ares. He was still asleep when she handed him over to her. Hermione hugged him gently but firmly to her body and walked outside the door to Apparate back to Hogwarts.

As she kissed his curly head, Hermione inhaled the soft clean scent of lavender on his skin. _Today was so difficult, but I can get through anything as long as I have you._ Pulling Ares tightly to her, Hermione Apparated them back to Hogwarts.

* * *

_**A/N (2)...Forgive me if I screwed up any of the legal aspects of estate settling. My area of expertise is biology, and not law. What little I know is based on the American legal system, and what knowledge I could absorb watching Law & Order.**_

_**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!**_


	10. Chapter 9

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to the talented J K Rowling.**_

_**I am so, so, sorry about the delay in getting this up. I had put this fic off for a little while, while I finished 'Prisoner 5273'. Once it was finished, this got postponed due to illness in my family and some medical tests that my daughter had to have (she is fine, though.) This is a bit longer of a chapter, as my apology to you for having to wait.**_

_**As always, a big thanks to Meladara for the beta. Any mistakes remaining are my own, probably due to me tweaking things and adding more after she returned this chapter to me.**_

* * *

Chapter 9

Hermione woke up quickly when she heard the babbling and cooing sounds coming from the cot beside the bed. Casting a quick Tempus charm, she bolted out of bed when she realised how late it was. Ares had never slept past seven-thirty, but it was now eight-thirty. She was supposed to meet Minerva in the Headmistress's office at ten.

As she walked towards the small kitchen to prepare Ares' bottle, her mood once again soured at the thought of the lack of communication from Ron. It had been well over a month since her disastrous meeting with him at the Three Broomsticks, and she had yet to hear from him. It was rather obvious to her as well that, even though she had been gone during her birthday, there was no gift waiting for her when she returned. He didn't even send a card. Even Harry and Neville had sent small token gifts, yet Ron didn't even bother with a note.

Hermione took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she sat down to give Ares his bottle. She did not want her mood to affect Ares and she desperately needed to regroup her emotions before her meeting with Minerva. Although the Headmistress didn't specify what the meeting was about, she was pretty sure it had something to do with the Halloween feast. Hermione shook her head slightly as she wondered what had possessed her to volunteer to decorate the Great Hall for the feast tonight.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione walked briskly towards her quarters following the meeting with Minerva. She honestly did not know how a meeting about decorations had so quickly turned into a debate over orange versus burnt sienna. Over two hours of her day was now gone, and, except for a slight change in the color scheme, it was going to be almost identical to the decorations that had been used since she was a first year. Hagrid was still going to bring in the giant pumpkins, and Minerva was still going to use transfigured bats. She shook her head in frustration as she realised that she could have spent the time with Ares instead of wasting her morning.

Hermione arrived at her quarters just in time for Ares to have his lunch, and she happily relieved the house elf of his childcare duty. Although she only had thirty minutes until she had to leave, Hermione thoroughly enjoyed feeding her baby brother his oatmeal. He had only been eating real food for about a week, but she enjoyed all the amusing expressions he would make as she put the spoon to his mouth. It was a messy affair, and she usually ended up with as much food on herself as she got into his mouth, nevertheless it was one of the highlights of her day.

After feeding Ares, she walked briskly towards the library to work. As Hermione approached the door to the library, her heart rate began to rush. This would be the first day she would be working by herself. Although Madame Pince was still head librarian, weekends would now be solely Hermione's job. They both had agreed before term started that she would learn more this way, but now that the time had arrived, she was quite nervous.

Hermione sat at the front desk and looked up at the clock, thankful that her nerves had finally calmed and that only four students had entered the library in the hour since she had arrived. She was very relieved that most of the students were gone due to it being a Hogsmeade weekend. Two young Ravenclaws sat down at a table to do school work, and only one of the remaining two had needed help finding a book. Since it was so slow and she had already shelved the displaced books, Hermione pulled a book out of the stack on advanced Arithmancy and began to read. She was leaned over engrossed in the text when the loud thump of a book being placed on the desk in front of her cut through her concentration, startling her.

"Is reading now part of your job description?"

She did not even have to look up to recognise the smooth, even baritone of Professor Snape. Hermione knew she had to be gaping like a fish, but he had surprised her. She never even saw him enter the library.

"I, um...err," she stuttered as she tried to form a coherent sentence.

He smirked at her slightly, and she noticed that he stared at her for several moments before speaking once again. If she hadn't known better, she'd have thought he was trying to hold back a smile as the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "I will need this book for longer than the usual check out period, Miss Granger. There should be a form for me to sign in the top desk drawer."

Hermione fumbled through the top drawer, looking for the form, and was embarrassed when it took several moments to find the correct paperwork. As the hot flush of embarrassment rose on her cheeks, she finally put the sheet on the desk for him to fill out. She watched his hands as he filled out the paperwork, noticing the fine scars that adorned them.

_Probably from preparing potions for so many years,_ she thought without moving her eyes from their study of his hands. He had very elegant hands with long fingers. _A pianist's hands,_ she thought, an expression she had heard her mum use. The unmistakable sound of him clearing his throat cut through her contemplation, and as she abruptly looked up, her cheeks flushed once again. Much to her horror, she realised he had just caught her staring again.

"Thank you," he said cordially as she handed him the book. He turned sharply and started to head out of the library before he stopped and abruptly turned back towards her once again. "Oh, and Miss Granger?" He paused and raised an eyebrow slightly before speaking once again. "You have oatmeal in your hair."

Hermione could only manage to gape at him, mouth wide open, as he turned sharply and strode out the door with a sligh smile playing about his lips.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione approached the large doors of the Great Hall, and wiped the sweat from her brow before pulling the door open to head back towards her quarters. Although most of the decorating had been done by spell, charm, or transfiguration, there was still enough manual labor for her to get a workout. She only had a couple of hours to get ready before the Halloween feast, and she wanted to spend some time with Ares as well.

After giving Ares his bottle, she headed to the bedroom to find an appropriate set of dress robes for the feast. Although she usually wore teaching-style robes like the rest of the staff, Minerva had insisted on proper dress robes since this was one of the few themed dinners during the year. She pulled open the wardrobe and began perusing the small number of dress robes that she had. Stopping her search when she reached a beautiful set of rust colored robes, Hermione pulled them out and looked them over. She had owned them for over two years, but had never worn them. They were the last pair of robes that her parents had purchased prior to her erasing their memories and sending them to Australia.

It was bittersweet to look at them, but as she thought more about it, they would be very appropriate to wear to the feast tonight. The color would coordinate nicely with the décor in the Great Hall, and the cut was not only elegant, it would highlight some of her best features as well.

She put on the dress robes and then walked into the bathroom to try and tame her hair. It was slightly frizzy from all the work she had done earlier, but she'd not been Lavender Brown's roommate for all those years for nothing. Casting a charm on her hair, Hermione watched the frizz slowly tame itself into soft curls. Pulling and twisting the curls into a soft chignon, she clasped it back and let a few tendrils fall into her face before charming it to stay in place. Adding just a touch of makeup to her face, she headed out to the sitting area.

After giving the house elf some last minute instructions, she kissed Ares on the top of his head and headed towards the Great Hall.

As Hermione entered the hall, she smiled at the sight of the decorations that she had helped with earlier in the day. She normally walked to the dais from the staff entrance, but since it was early and the students had yet to arrive, she had entered from the back in order to take in the full effect of the decorations and atmosphere. So engrossed was she in her observations that she had failed to notice the pitch black eyes staring at her from the staff table. And when she finally turned her gaze towards the dais and her eyes met those of the normally dour potions master, she let out a gasp.

He was not wearing his usual black robes but instead a very dark green. As she walked closer, she realised that the sleeves had elegant black embroidery and were of a highly attractive cut. Feeling his eyes upon her and unable to miss the questioning quirking of his brow, Hermione felt her cheeks begin to burn. Then, she turned to step up onto the dais and she froze. The only open chair was the one directly next to him.

Hermione sat in her seat and avoided his gaze for several seconds, trying to rid herself of the nausea she was now feeling. She turned slightly towards him and quickly spoke a somewhat curt "Professor" before sipping on her glass of pumpkin juice. Taking deep breaths to steady her nerves, she fumbled with the napkin in front of her, barely catching his "Miss Granger" as she placed the napkin in her lap.

As Hermione watched the students enter the hall, her heart had finally quit racing. She had managed to steal glances at him several times during the Headmistress's speech, and each time, she felt her heart flutter and her cheeks flush brilliantly. It was only when her eyes locked with his and she felt the flush go all the way down to her toes, that she finally came to the conclusion that she found him attractive.

-ooOOoo-

Severus had arrived early to the Halloween feast, much to his chagrin. Not only did he dislike having to be amongst the students for such an amount of time, he was irate that Minerva had insisted that he wear dress robes to dinner. _'And definitely not black,' _she had added before their conversation had ended.

He had just taken a sip of wine when he noticed Miss Granger enter the hall. For some reason she had come through the back doors where the students usually entered, but he had almost choked on his wine when he was able to get a good look at her.

She was wearing a very elegant set of rust colored robes, and he couldn't help but let his eyes roam down her figure. He was still looking when her eyes suddenly looked up at him. Although he knew that he had been caught, he was too intrigued by the blush growing across her cheeks to really care. _Interesting,_ he thought to himself as he picked up his wine and took another sip.

As he listened to Minerva's speech, he could sense her watching him. He was pretty sure that she thought she had been stealthy, but he had not been a spy for over twenty years for nothing. If he hadn't have known better he would have almost thought that she was..._what was that Muggle term._..checking him out?

For the most part, Severus had ignored the looks and sly glances that Miss Granger had been focusing in his direction. But as Minerva stepped down from the dais, his eyes met hers once again, and he couldn't help but be mesmorized by the blush that not only was present on her face, but went down into the top of her dress robes. _I wonder how far down that blush actually goes? _He pushed his legs together quickly, trying to discourage the reaction that her flush was doing to parts of his anatomy.

Severus had never been more thankful for the quickness of the house elves than he was at that moment. As the food appeared on the table, he managed to eat fairly quickly without getting involved in any of the conversations at the staff table. He noticed that Miss Granger had immediately tucked into her dinner, only pausing briefly to talk to Flitwick once the pudding had appeared. It was during her distraction that Severus had quickly risen from the table and strode off towards the staff exit in the Great Hall. As he exited the door, he readjusted his now too-tight trousers, and thanked several deities for the looseness of wizarding robes.

* * *

_**A/N...Many of Ares antics come from real life experiences with my kids. Yes, I did go out in public, and it was pointed out to me that I had baby food in my hair. Even worse than oatmeal, it was carrots...nice, bright orange, carrots.**_

_**Okay, we finally have mutual attraction...let's see how they both deal with it...**_

_**As always...please review! I won't hold any chapters at bay waiting for reviews, but the Muse does get excited to receive them!**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to the talented J K Rowling.**_

_**A big, big thank you to Cybrokat for betaing this chapter for me. Any remaining mistakes are my own, since I have quite a bad habit of tinkering with stories after they are returned to me. Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

Chapter 10

The next few weeks passed quickly as Hermione gradually settled into her weekend duties in the library. In fact, she'd barely had any time with Ares the past week while Madam Pince was gone to a wizarding librarian's conference in France. In all her years as a student, Hermione didn't remember the older woman ever missing a day in the library, not that she paid that much attention to the comings and goings of the faculty. And truth be told, she still found it slightly humourous that librarians even went to conferences. She snorted to herself as she imagined a bunch of librarians gathered together, and another one shushing them all for talking too loud.

Hermione quietly let herself into her rooms, aware that the house-elf had already put Ares to bed. She was exhausted after having to go back to the library to discipline some students that had set off the wards in the Restricted Section. She had never realised all that Madam Pince had to do, until she had to do it herself. She was thankful that the librarian would be returning in the morning. "_What kind of student sneaks into the library at midnight to try to take a book?"_ she thought as she changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. As she started to doze off, she realised that she herself had done that on several occassions.

She awoke suddenly when she heard crying coming from across the room. She quickly grabbed her wand from the side table and cast a Tempus charm. Six in the morning. She sighed as she realised sleeping in was not going to be an option this morning. But Ares wasn't a baby that cried much, so she quickly threw on her dressing gown before walking towards the cot to see if he was okay.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she walked close enough to observe him, watching her baby brother chomp on the bars of his cot with his new teeth. "_So that is the problem,"_ she thought as she reached towards him, watching him alternate between chewing on the railing and fussing. She made a mental note to get more pain potion from Poppy before picking him up and carrying him to the kitchen.

She had just finished preparing Are's bottle when she heard a faint tapping on her window. As she glanced at Ares and saw that he was content for the moment, she raised the window and let the unfamiliar owl into the room. As he landed on the kitchen counter she quickly took the tattered envelope from his leg. She gave the exhausted bird a small piece of toast, and watched him exit the window before returning her focus to the post once again.

Hermione was surprised to receive a Muggle envelope instead of the usual parchment so she opened it carefully and gasped as she quickly scanned the contents. It had taken several months, but she had finally gotten Ares' name legally changed from Wilkins to Granger.

Although her wizarding barrister handling her parents' estate had not specialised in family law, he was good friends with another barrister who was. He was able to push through the name change, despite the fact that some of the documents had not exactly been legal. According to the adoption documents, Hermione's legal family name was Wilkins, and it took quite a few charms and transfigurtion spells to create believable documents for the family law barrister. Hermione had provided him documents stating that her parents had changed their name to Wilkins while in hiding, pending a trial, and that their name was really Granger.

Hermione smiled as she held the certificate, showing that not only was she his legal guardian, but she was his sister in every way, including name.

She finished reading the documents just as Ares started to cry once again, chewing on his fingers while impatiently waiting for his bottle. Hermione was thankful that she did not have to be in the library for several hours, which would give her plenty of time to feed Ares and then take him to Madame Pomfrey for more pain potion.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione arrived at the door to the infirmary, and stood there catching her breath for several seconds before pulling the door open. Ares still got motion sickness from Apparating or Flooing, so she had walked to the infirmary and tackled the steps while carrying him.

As she pulled the door open and walked in, she did not see the matron immediately. However, there were several beds occupied with a variety of students, appearing to be first years all the way up to seventh years. She reached the back of the room just as Madame Pomfrey was stepping out of her supply closet. The matron looked down at Ares, and then at all the hospital beds, her face paling as she glanced at Hermione once again.

"Oh, dear...we need to get out of here immediately, Hermione. All of these students have come down with a high fever within the past 48 hours, and I haven't had a chance to ward the doors and put up an isolation sign."

Hermione followed the older woman towards the door, and then turned quickly to question her. Her voice rose nervously as she looked around the large room before the door shut. "What is wrong with them?"

"Well, I'm not sure just yet, because I haven't seen these symptoms in several years, but I believe it to be an outbreak of Dragon Pox. I'm not exactly sure though since the last outbreak was over fifty years ago and then just a few random cases at St. Mungo's every couple of years. We don't even keep the potion in stock anymore."

"Oh gods," Hermione mumbled, as she looked down at Ares. "Have I exposed him by coming into the infirmary?"

The matron gave her a reassuring smile before speaking. "Not unless you touched anything. Dragon Pox is similar to the Muggle smallpox or varicella. It is the blisters that spread the disease, and you should be safe unless you touched something in the infirmary." She paused for a second, her smile starting to fade. "But with this many children in the infirmary, I am afraid there will be many more before Severus can finish the potion. You might want to avoid the Great Hall and public areas for a while, if possible."

"Speaking of Severus finishing the potion, why did you come to the infirmary? Is Ares sick?"

"No, I just needed more pain potion since he is teething once again. I've run out of what Professor Snape gave me a few months ago."

"I'm afraid that he only made that small vial for you. We don't exactly have much of a need for an infant pain potion. I will tell him this afternoon when he comes by, but with the work he is doing on the Dragon Pox potion, I'm not sure when he will be able to get it to you." The older woman looked down at Ares, watching him chew on Hermione's robes. "Do you still remember the charm to freeze a piece of cloth for him to chew on? I'm afraid that is the only option until I can get you the potion."

Hermione nodded affirmatively to Madame Pomfrey before bidding her a good day and returning to her room. As she walked down the long corridors, she thought about what the matron had told her. Although she did not know a lot about Dragon Pox, she vaguely remembered it being covered in History of Magic and Potions class. It was a very serious disease, and had killed many witches and wizards in the past thousand years. It was similar in nature to smallpox, and could be quite deadly to either really old or really young witches and wizards. It very rarely killed healthy adolescent to middle aged wizards or witches, but could still make them quite sick. She shivered slightly as she thought about how deadly it could be to the elderly Professors like Flitwick or Minerva. "_And if Ares were to get sick..." _She shook her head as she tried to get rid of that disturbing thought.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione had avoided meals in the Great Hall for the next couple of days, taking to heart the warning that Madame Pomfrey had given her. She had been very thankful that it had also been weekdays, and Madame Pince had let her stay away from the library as well.

She had just put Ares down for a nap when she heard a sharp tapping on her door. She quickly walked towards it, trying to avoid waking up Ares in the process. He had been trouble getting to sleep with all the teething pain, and she really did not want him to wake up due to the noise.

Her mouth gaped slightly as she pulled the door open. She stared into the bloodshot eyes of Professor Snape as he stood in her doorway. She had never seen him so haggard looking, not even during her sixth year as the war was escalating. His robes were wrinkled, and he had a distinct shadow of facial hair that seemed to be as black as the hair on his head. It was obvious that he had not slept, yet he was at the door holding a couple of potion vials.

He sighed as he held the vials towards her. "Madame Pomfrey said you needed these. If this will be all...," he started to turn away as she grasped the vials.

"Wait!" she spoke before he could walk away. "Have you finished the Dragon Pox potion?"

"Yes. And then I immediately made these potions for the young Mister Granger." He sighed once again before continuing. "Is that all, Miss Granger?"

"You must be exhausted." She offered a timid smile as she looked up towards him. "The pain potion could have waited until after you had rested. I...uh...thank you, Professor Snape."

His eyes softened momentarily before he quickly regained his composure. "It was nothing, Miss Granger." He turned quickly and strode off before she could say anything else to him.

Hermione closed the door slowly, and stared at the vials before heading back to her sitting room. Every time that she thought she had figured out Professor Snape - well, figured him out as best she could, - he would do something that would surprise her. He could have slept before bringing her Ares' pain potion, yet he made it first. She had never really pegged him for the selfless type, but then again, she really did not know him. Yes, he had been her teacher for six years, but the image of the stern man that had taught her was gradually being replaced by the image of a man that would put her brother's welfare before his own.

She sat down and wondered if she would ever truly figure out the enigma that was Severus Snape.

* * *

_**A/N...I'm still not totally happy with this chapter, but considering what I wanted to cover (this will tie in greatly to future chapters), this is as good as it gets.**_

_**Dragon Pox is one of the few diseases that is mentioned in canon and the wikia. I took a few liberties with it since very little is actually mentioned. **_

_**As always, reviews are appreciated. I have been very bad with responding to reviews unless a question is asked, and I do apologise. My life is quite hectic right now, having two kids that need to see specialists. As it is, I am having a difficult time updating as often as I like, and review responses would take a backseat to that. But I really do appreciate every review that I get!**_

_**On that note, updates will probably be every 2-3 weeks, so I apologise in advance for that as well.**_


	12. Chapter 11

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing from this endeavor, and anything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling.**_

_**Thank you to Cybrokat for the alpha read and some light betaing, and to CRMediaGal for the final beta read. **_

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Chapter 11

_**Dragon Pox Outbreak at Hogwarts Finally Under Control**_

_**by Rita Skeeter**_

_**Once again, the Headmistress of Hogwarts is refusing to answer the Daily Prophet's questions regarding the recent outbreak of Dragon Pox at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But sources close to the faculty have told the Prophet that the number infected now number less than fifty, down from a peak of two-hundred almost three weeks ago.**_

_**These same sources have confirmed that the source of the illness was a student granted leave to attend a funeral service in Romania, where Dragon Pox is still quite common.**_

_**Severus Snape, former Death Eater and current Potions Master at the school, has managed to control the illness by brewing the potion that is known to cure it. Why Hogwarts does not keep such an important potion in stock...**_

"What rubbish!" Hermione threw down her copy of the paper in frustration as she drank her morning tea. She still couldn't believe that the Daily Prophet kept her as a journalist, despite it being publicly released that she had previously been an unregistered Animagus. "That woman wouldn't know the truth if it bit her on the arse!" she mumbled not too quietly.

"Language, Miss Granger. I don't think the students should hear you speaking like that." The silky voice paused, and then she could feel the breath on her face as he got closer and whispered, "Even if it is the truth."

Hermione jumped slightly, sloshing some of the tea onto her robes, as she looked up at the person that had startled her. Not that she didn't recognise that voice immediately- he always seemed to catch her at her worst moments.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, not sounding sincere in the least bit. "But that woman doesn't ever print the truth. It was never 200 cases, only 150, and there are less than twenty cases still in the Infirmary right now." She took a few deep breaths, finally realising exactly who she was talking to. "Is there something I can help you with, Professor Snape?"

Hermione watched as his smirk was slowly replaced by a look of indifference. "Yes. I've noticed that the last issue of _Potions Quarterly_ you have is at least six months old. There should be a newer one that came out last month."

She sighed momentarily, acknowledging that the friendly banter from earlier was now gone, to be replaced by the more familiar tones reminiscent of her childhood. "Yes, there is. If it isn't on the shelf, then it is probably on one of the study tables. Well, that is if a student hasn't nicked it." She quietly cast an _Accio_ at the tables, only for nothing to return to her.

"I'm afraid it has been taken. I can reorder it for you, Professor, and it should be in by the end of the week." She smiled at him as she spoke.

"I suppose that will have to do. Good day, Miss Granger."

-ooOOoo-

Hermione walked slowly back towards her quarters, stopping occasionally to rest her feet, and lightly cursed under her breath for forgetting the Cushioning Charm on her shoes. It had been a long day, and things only went downhill after her run-in with Professor Snape. Not only had she had to reprimand two different couples for snogging in the library, but Minerva had visited her and told her that once again, the board had postponed the date for the make up N.E.W.T.s. Originally, she was supposed to take them in November, but now that date had been changed from November to December to January. She wasn't quite sure what the delay was, but she really wanted to get that part of her life over with. Without her exam results, she still felt like a student in some ways, and hoped by getting them over with that she would finally feel more like the adult that she was.

She slowly and quietly opened the door to her quarters, not sure whether Ares would still be sleeping. She tiptoed quietly into the sitting room and couldn't help but smile when she saw him sitting on a blanket on the floor, chewing on the wand-shaped rattle that Harry and Ginny had gotten him. Thanking the elf before dismissing her, she sat beside him and watched him reach his chubby little arms towards her.

Hermione picked him up and placed him in her lap, and he quickly grabbed her hair and started pulling on it, occasionally putting it in his mouth and chewing on it. She gently twirled his curls as she held him, realising that he would already need a haircut soon. Although it was common in the wizarding world for boys to have long hair, she was not fond of that look, and it didn't help that he was almost a carbon copy of her. Bushy hair was something she hoped to help him avoid.

After playing with him and feeding him his dinner, Hermione gave him a quick bath before heading to the bedroom to put him down for the night. She temporarily transfigured her dressing chair into a rocking chair, and gently stroked his back as she rocked him to sleep. As he started to drift off, she couldn't help but think how good her life was right now. Sure, there were problems with Ron, and she still had to take her N.E.W.T.s, but she had a feeling everything was going to work out just fine.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione buttoned the last button on Ares' coat and tried to put mittens on the very wiggly boy. He waved his arms as she struggled to put the mittens on, pulling one off while she put the other on. After the third try, she finally had both mittens on him, and they headed out the door and started the long walk to Hogsmeade.

It had been two weeks since the Dragon Pox outbreak, and now that the numbers were fewer than five in the Infirmary, she felt it was finally safe to take Ares out. It was a relatively warm day for late November, and she really wanted to get an early start on her Christmas shopping, not that she had too many people to buy for this year. Ares had never seen the snow, so it was a perfect day to head out and do some light shopping.

After buying a new quill set for Minerva, and then getting broom polishing kits for Harry and Ron, she decided to call it a day. She still needed to get gifts for Ginny and Molly, but that could be done another day. It was getting close to Ares' nap time, and although he had not fussed at all whilst they were shopping, she knew it would be only a matter of time before he would.

She briefly stopped at the Three Broomsticks to catch her breath and warm up before heading back to the castle with Ares. After sitting down for less than a minute, she was surprised to see Ron walk through the door with what she assumed were fellow Auror-trainees.

Although she was still aggravated with him, she couldn't help but smile when he noticed her and gave her a big, toothy grin. He spoke briefly to the other Aurors before heading towards her table.

"It's been too long, 'Mione." He smiled again as he slid into the seat beside her. "I'm so sorry I missed your birthday. We were on a training assignment, and I couldn't get out to send you a card or gift. And by the time I was able to, it just seemed too little too late."

"That's okay, Ron." She reached over and grabbed his still-gloved hand and gave it a little squeeze. "I've been quite busy, myself. I've been overwhelmed at the castle working in the library, and what remaining time I have I spend with this little man." She stroked Ares face gently as she spoke, noticing how sleepy he was getting. "I would love to stay and catch up, but I need to get back to the castle. There is a staff meeting in a couple of hours, and I need to put Ares down for his nap." She fidgeted with Ares as she tried to dig into her bag for money to settle her bill.

"Well, I need to get back to the boys as well. We only have an hour before we have to get back." He watched her trying to find the money in her bag, finally spilling several Galleons and Knuts onto the floor. "Uh... I can, er, hold him while you pay Rosmerta."

"Oh, thank you Ron." She quickly but carefully handed over the sleepy baby, and headed to the bar to settle her bill.

As she returned to the table to get Ares, she noticed Ron had taken his gloves off and was twisting a few of Ares' curls around his finger tips.

"He looks more like you every day, 'Mione. It's a bit scary, actually." Ron chuckled lightly as he started to hand Ares back towards Hermione. As he reached the sleepy baby towards her, she gasped slightly as she noticed something on his hand.

"What's wrong with your hand, Ron?" She pointed at the scabs and blister on the back of his right hand.

"Oh, that. I'm not sure, but I think it is probably from something I touched when I visited George a few days ago. Must have had a reaction to something in the joke shop." He shrugged slightly as he stood up.

"Well, it doesn't look good. You might want to get some healing paste on it when you get back home." She wrapped Ares' coat around him once more, and slid his mittens back on. "It was good seeing you, Ron. Maybe next weekend we can get together again?"

"I would like that."

As she exited the door, Hermione couldn't help but replay the conversation that she had had with Ron. Even though he was very polite, and had even apologised for forgetting her birthday, she couldn't help the nagging feeling that something was slightly off. Their conversation had been more like a conversation between two friends, or even two acquaintances. Not the conversation between two people that loved each other and were in a relationship. She tightened her scarf, and noticed the snow had started once again. She increased her pace and started walking more quickly towards the castle, temporarily casting her worries about Ron aside.

-ooOOoo-

After getting Ares into his cot and summoning the house elf to watch him, Hermione walked briskly towards the staff room. Although she wasn't late, the room was already full, and once again she had to take the only seat left... next to Professor Snape.

He raised his brow at her momentarily before turning towards the Headmistress, who had just risen to start the meeting.

"This will be our last full staff meeting before the end of term. I wanted to let you know that I will be gone for the first half of the winter holidays due to an unforeseen family emergency, and in my stead Filius will be acting Headmaster. Severus will be acting Deputy if Filius is unavailable." Minerva paused and nodded towards the two men before continuing once again. "Poppy, how many students do we still have in the Infirmary with Dragon Pox?"

"Just three, and I should be releasing them tomorrow."

The Headmistress nodded at the matron before continuing to speak. "Good. And that will lead us into the rest of the staff absences over the holiday. Once the Infirmary is empty, Poppy will be leaving for a few days to attend a brief Healer Symposium in Brussels. A Healer from St. Mungo's will be on call if there are any emergencies, but since almost all the students will be heading home, I anticipate little to no activity in the Infirmary. Pomona will be absent the last week before term resumes, and Filius has agreed to handle any Hufflepuff Head of House duties should anything come up. Does anyone have any questions or anything to add?" Minerva smiled as she glanced around the room. "You are dismissed. Enjoy your holidays."

Hermione quickly exited the staff room to head back to her quarters. The staff meeting had been brief, and she was glad because she wanted to be back in her rooms before Ares awoke. As she got closer to her rooms, she thought about what it would be like to stay at Hogwarts over the break. A good portion of the staff would be gone at various times, but still there would be enough company to keep her from being totally lonely, not to mention access to all the books she would ever want to read. If she got desperate, she could always talk to Professor Snape about potions or Dark Arts texts. Blushing slightly at the thought of sitting close to him and having a heated discussion about potions, she realised that she had been thinking way too much about the Potions professor ever since she had seen him in his dress robes at the Halloween Feast. She snorted slightly as she realised the chance of that happening was about the same as her winning a Muggle lottery.

* * *

_**A/N... Well, this was the 'calm before the storm' chapter. From this point on, the story will have a faster pace and there will be much more plot development.**_

_**I'm going to attempt (fingers crossed) to have an update at least every 2 weeks since I am only posting one WIP at the moment (although another is in the works, it is taking a backseat to this one.) Thank you for being patient with my posting schedule.**_

_**As always, reviews are appreciated. **_


	13. Chapter 12

_**The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing, and anything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling.**_

_**I am so, so, sorry that it took almost a month to update this. In the past two weeks, a stomach virus has gone through my whole house, and I ended up in the hospital with complications from being so sick. Apparently you can get a GI bleed from intense vomitting. Who knew? Anyway, I will try to get the next chapter out more quickly since it is a bit of a cliff hanger. Thank you for your patience!**_

_**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but this is where the break needed to happen. The next chapter will be longer.**_

_**A big thank you to Meladara for betaing this chapter. It was a grammar nightmare before she fixed it. Any remaining mistakes are my own.**_

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Chapter 12

Between working in the library, taking care of Ares, and studying for her N.E.W.T.s, the next few weeks passed fairly quickly for Hermione. As she left her quarters and began the short walk to the library, she couldn't help but be giddy thinking about the upcoming holidays. The Yule Feast was going to be in two days, and Hermione was quite excited to dress up once again. And if she was going to be totally honest with herself, she was silently thrilled with thoughts of seeing Professor Snape in dress robes. He had looked so handsome in those dark green robes at the Halloween feast, and her heart sped up just thinking about it again. Pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind, she opened the door to the library to get to work.

Hermione had only been working for about two hours, re-shelving books in the restricted section, when the sudden high pitched voice of a house-elf startled her. Breathing heavy, she turned around towards the elf.

"Missy Hermione, baby Ares is quite upset, and Mipsy sent me here to get you. The pain potion isn't helping the little Sir."

Hermione glanced around the library, quickly locating Madame Pince, and then turned back towards the elf. "Let me tell Madam Pince that I am leaving, and then I will be right there, Mipsy." She quickly shelved the book she was holding and walked at a fast pace towards the front of the library.

After telling the elder librarian that she was leaving, Hermione moved briskly towards her quarters. Normally, she would take Ares to Madame Pomfrey, but she had already left for her symposium, and Hermione didn't feel that teething pain was enough of an emergency to floo the on-call Healer from St. Mungo's.

As she approached the room, Hermione could hear a loud wailing coming from inside. She opened the door to find the house-elf rocking Ares in a transfigured rocking chair. His chubby face was red and blotchy from all the crying, and his little eyes were swollen. Her chest tightened and her heart ached to see him in this much pain.

"I can take it from here, Mipsy." She gently took the crying baby from the elf's tiny arms. A thought suddenly came to her and she quickly called "Wait!" before the elf could disapparate.

"Do you happen to know when Professor Snape has an open class period? I really need to ask him about another potion for Ares but don't want to interrupt his classes."

"Mipsy can ask the Headmistress and then contact Potions Master for you."

"Thank you, Mipsy." Hermione spoke softly as the house-elf disappeared.

-ooOOoo-

It had taken almost thirty minutes of rocking before Ares finally calmed down enough to go to sleep, and Hermione had almost fallen asleep herself when she heard the loud knock on the door. Gently placing the sleeping baby into his cot, she went to answer the door.

Hermione opened the door and was relieved to see that it was Professor Snape. She stared at him momentarily, realising that his expression seemed to be more of concern than of his usual indifference.

"Do you have need of more potion? One of the house-elves told me that you needed to discuss the child's potion."

Hermione nodded and then motioned for him to enter her sitting room. Although it was a totally inappropriate thought, her heart rate momentarily increased at the thought of Professor Snape in her quarters. Despite the circumstances, she couldn't help but smile slightly as he sat down on her sofa.

"I still have potion left, and I gave him a dose only a few hours ago, but it doesn't seem to be helping his pain. I'm not sure if he needs a larger dose or maybe something different."

Professor Snape glanced away momentarily, obviously in thought, before he looked at her to speak. "How much does he weigh now? It is possible that he might need a larger dose."

"About a stone when Poppy weighed him last week."

"Hmm. He really shouldn't need a larger dose yet, but it wouldn't hurt him to increase the dose. Increase it to two spoonfuls and see if that works. If not, you may have to consult the mediwitch from St. Mungo's while Madame Pomfrey is absent. Pediatric potions is something I have not kept up to date with since I have had no need to brew them until now."

He started to rise from his seat and head towards the door. "Is that all, Miss Granger?"

"Yes. Thank you, Professor Snape."

Hermione escorted him to the door and then watched as he disappeared down the corridor. As she closed the door and headed back to her sitting room, her smile returning once again as she sat down on the sofa. Hermione was beginning to realise that her attraction to the Potions Master wasn't going to disappear anytime soon.

-ooOOoo-

Hermione gave the house-elf some final instructions on the dosage of Are's pain potions before heading out of her quarters and slowly making her way to the Great Hall. The past two days she had given him the increased dose of the pain potion, and although it would work quickly and calm him down, she still was somewhat worried that he was needing it so often. However, Hermione knew that Poppy would be back in two days, and then he could have a thorough assessment by the matron.

She was almost to the Great Hall when she passed the display case holding various trophies that students had been awarded over the years. Although the case held some interesting awards, Hermione was more interested in her reflection in the glass case as she stopped in front of it. She checked her appearance one last time before she walked into the hall. Her fitted burgundy robes accentuated her curves without being too revealing, and she had once again worn her hair up to accentuate the neckline of the dress. After checking that her hair charms were still holding, she again headed to dinner.

Hermione pulled out her seat and glanced at the empty seats surrounding her. She had arrived slightly earlier than she had intended, but then again, she would rather be early than late. Looking up, she gasped. The enchanted ceiling displayed a cloudy night sky with snow falling. Although the snow was just an illusion, she couldn't help but be mesmerized as she watched it fall several feet before disappearing. Her concentration was broken when she heard the chair next to her being pulled out.

Turning her head, Hermione had to concentrate really hard to keep from staring.

Professor Snape sat down beside her, and her eyes immediately focused on his midnight blue dress robes. The color of his robes emphasized the blue-black color of his hair, which she was surprised to see pulled back into a queue and tied with a matching midnight blue ribbon. Only when he had cleared his throat had she realised she was still staring at his hair.

"Miss Granger. Are you finished staring at whatever is so intriguing about my attire?"

"I... Uh... I'm sorry, Professor Snape. I have never seen you wear your hair tied back before." She looked down as she spoke, trying to hide the fact that she was now blushing.

"It is more convenient for brewing, which is what I was doing up until dinnertime." He picked up the wine glass and took a sip before speaking again. "Is the pain potion still working for the young Mister Granger?"

"Yes, it is, although he has needed several doses the past couple of days. When Madame Pomfrey gets back I will have her check him over since he is needing it so often."

"That would probably be wise." He then turned away from her, towards the plates of food that were now appearing on the tables.

Hermione picked up her own glass, hoping that drinking some pumpkin juice would somehow cool the flush from her face. She had just picked up a turkey leg when a house-elf suddenly appeared behind her seat.

"Missy Hermione, you need to come quickly. It is little Master Ares. He is crying, and Mipsy can't calm him. None of the elves can calm him. We believes he has the fever."

"What? What do you mean, you think he has a fever? Did you check his temperature?" Hermione's voice got louder and more panicked as she talked to the elf.

"Missy Hermione, we can't touch him. None of the elves can. It is like a wizard spell is on him."

"Cursed?" she spoke cautiously, terrified of the answer the elf was going to give.

The elf nodded towards her, and she gasped as she started to push her chair from the table.

Hermione paled as she jumped out of her seat. In a flash, she was out of the staff exit and running down the corridor. She had no idea what was going on with Ares, but whatever it was, Hermione had a feeling it wasn't something little, and that fact alone terrified her.

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_**Reviews are always appreciated!**_


	14. Chapter 13

_**The usual disclaimer applies. It all belongs to JKR, I just occasionally play in her sandbox.**_

_**I'm so sorry for the delay. Where do I start? Maybe with a bit of begging or grovelling? First we all had the stomach virus, and then when things finally seemed to settle down, my son broke his arm and we ended up at the local Children's hospital. So life basically got in the way. Things are finally settled, but the updates may still take a while since I now need to finish my lj prompfest fic before working on the next chapter. But I promise I will never leave a fic unfinished, even if there are some delays along the way. This story is outlined, and we are at least at the halfway point right now. **_

_**This chapter really did take a village to be post-ready. I would like to thank worrywart and Isabel for the alpha-read and suggestions, Meladara for the awesome beta-reading, and onecelestialbeing for a final SPaG issue that I was much too lazy to look up myself. Any remaining mistakes are totally my own.**_

_**So, if you have stuck with me through my long winded note, please enjoy the chapter!**_

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Chapter 13

Hermione picked up the pace, literally running once she had exited the Great Hall. The thought that someone had cursed her brother—her _baby_ brother—was terrifying. Although she couldn't think of any enemies off of the top of her head, she knew that there were still a few Death Eaters that had evaded capture. Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the most secure places in the Wizarding world, but then she thought back to her sixth year and realised that if it could be breached once, it could be done again. As she ran frantically down the corridors, she was unaware of the black dragon-hide boots that followed closely behind her.

She quickly pulled the door to her quarters open, only to be stopped by a distressed house-elf before reaching the bedroom.

"We can't touch him, Missy Hermione!"

Hermione pushed past the elf and headed towards Ares' cot. He was whimpering and thrashing in his bed, and it was obvious by the curls matted to his head that he had a fever. As she got closer to him, he started to scream, and suddenly she was thrown into the wall across the room.

She got up slowly and swayed as a sudden bout of dizziness hit her. As she touched the back of her head and felt dampness, she realised she had hit the wall with enough force to cause it to bleed. Hermione continued to watch Ares as she tried to regain her balance, but looked towards the sitting room when she heard loud voices. Making her way to the sitting room, she stopped suddenly when she noticed who was there.

"Professor Snape?" she said with a wince, her head still throbbing. Leaning into the doorway for support, she watched him walk across the room, a look of concern upon his face.

"Are you injured?" he asked softly.

"I hit my head, but it can wait. I think Ares has been cursed. When I tried to pick him up, I was thrown into the wall. I can't get near him, and neither can the house-elves," she said, her voice growing more frantic with each word. "Please, Professor, can you check to see if he was hurt. I don't know what to do."

He nodded and then followed her into the bedroom. He walked until he was just a few feet from the cot and then began a series of wand movements as he moved around the room. Careful to keep his distance from the cot, he cast the various diagnostic spells. After several minutes, he stopped as several runes appeared above the boy. His eyebrows rose in shock as he interpreted the runes.

"He has not been cursed," Professor Snape said calmly, turning once again towards Hermione. "There are no traces of dark magic or spells on him. But he is sick, very sick, and we need to get him to the infirmary."

"What do you mean that he wasn't cursed? We can't get near him? How are we supposed to get him to the infirmary if we can't touch him?" Hermione was trying to be calm as she talked, but the panic was still evident in her voice. "What is wrong with him?"

"He is in pain. His body is unintentionally trying to protect itself from anything that might be harmful. That includes being touched, even by you or the house-elves. It is very similar to _Protego_, but since it is accidental, he has no control over it. I could—,"

"Are you saying he is a wizard? That he is doing this?"

"Yes. Pain isn't that common a trigger for accidental magic, but it has been documented a few times in children this young. As I was saying, it isn't easy to get around it without causing him injury. Magic this young is very unstable, and he is projecting most of his energy into protecting himself. If I try to cast any spells to cancel it, it could hurt his magical core. He has to withdraw the shields himself."

"How do we get him to do that? He is only seven months old, it's not like I can reason with him. I'm not even sure he understands anything I say to him." She slumped down into a chair beside the cot and pressed her fingers into her temples. "And why is he in so much pain? You never said what was wrong other than he is really sick."

Hermione massaged her head, trying to relieve the headache that was increasing in intensity. A small part of her brain realised she shouldn't be so blunt with her former professor, but she was too filled with worry for Ares to give it much thought.

"He has Dragon Pox, although I'm not sure how he could have been exposed to it. The outbreak here has been over for weeks, and I didn't think he had been exposed. Nevertheless, he needs to be given the potion within the next forty-eight hours for it to work."

"Dragon Pox." Hermione looked away, deep in thought. "But I was so careful. We avoided the infirmary and all the sick students. We didn't even leave Hogwarts until the outbreak was over, and even then we only went to the Three—," she stopped suddenly and widened her eyes. "Oh, God. It was Ron. He thought it was just a reaction to something at the joke shop, but it wasn't. Those blisters..." She started breathing quickly and tears started forming in the corners of her eyes. "I let him hold Ares whilst I paid. What have I done?"

"You couldn't have known, Miss Granger." Professor Snape spoke softly to her.

"I should have been more careful. We should never have gone to Hogsmeade so soon after the outbreak." She leaned forward and buried her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed silently. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself, then lifted her head and looked over to Professor Snape. "What do I do now? How do we stop the shielding?"

"I don't know. Small children aren't exactly my area of expertise." He sighed and looked towards the crying infant. "He is doing this because he is scared and in pain, so there is a chance that if we got him to calm down or sleep, he would relax enough to stop casting. How would you normally calm him when he is upset?"

"I would hold him, but that isn't an option." She gnawed on her lip nervously before speaking once again. "Sometimes when I sing to him; it calms him down." She glanced over at Professor Snape, noticing that he seemed to have a faint blush on his normally pale cheeks.

"It would be worth trying." He pulled at his collar in what appeared to be a nervous gesture and turned slightly away from Hermione before speaking again. "I will be in my private lab brewing the Dragon Pox potion, but I will return as soon as it is finished. You should send the house-elves out of the room as well before trying to calm him."

Hermione nodded as he swept silently out of the room. She was thankful that he wouldn't be there when she started singing, blushing as she thought about her horrendous singing voice. At least Ares seemed to like it, and that was what mattered now.

Pulling a chair as close to his cot as she could, Hermione started to sing a soft lullaby that her parents had sung to her. She was pretty sure that she had some of the lyrics wrong, but it was still starting to calm him down. Inching her chair closer, his soft whines started to taper off, and she hoped he would soon fall asleep.

"Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, smiles await when you rise. Sleep, pretty baby, do not cry, and I will sing a lullaby."

As Hermione finished the first part of the song, she noticed that his breathing had slowed considerably, and she took a chance and tip-toed closer to the cot. She slowly reached in, and breathed a sigh of relief when her hand touched his cheek. As she continued singing, she softly stroked his hot little face. She carried him slowly towards her bed, and carefully put him down and climbed in bed beside him.

"Cares you know not, therefore sleep, while over you a watch I'll keep. Sleep, pretty darling, Do not cry..."

Hermione's singing slowly stopped as she fell asleep beside him.

-ooOOoo-

Severus walked quickly towards his quarters, looking calm and collected as he took his long purposeful strides. But he was anything but calm as he thought of the situation that he now found himself in.

What started as simply eavesdropping on a conversation in the Great Hall had quickly escalated to a life or death situation. Even if he hadn't been able to hear Miss Granger screech _'Cursed'_ to the elf at dinner, he could read her body language quite easily. She was scared, and he had never seen her leave the staff table in such a terrified state. He wasn't sure what made him follow her, but he was glad that he had.

That such a small child had done an accidental shielding charm was surprising, and he was even more surprised to find out exactly how strong the magic was. There was only the occasional first year that could cast a powerful _Protego,_ and even most third years couldn't do it consistently. Yet an infant had unintentionally done it, a Muggle-born infant at that. Most Muggle-borns did not show magic until at least school age, and it was usually very small magical acts. This shield was a tremendous show of power, and he personally knew of only one child that had performed such powerful magic at such an early age. It was also a protection spell, and he shuddered slightly as he tried to bury the unpleasant memory.

As he considered Miss Granger's magical ability, he realised he really shouldn't have been so surprised that her brother would possess the same powerful magic. She was quite a powerful young witch, and he was pretty sure that her brother would even be a more powerful wizard.

_If I can can cure him,_ his mind added, as he entered his lab.

-ooOOoo-

Severus wiped the sleep from his eyes as he pocketed the now finished potion and headed out of his lab. He was exhausted after spending over two hours working meticulously on the cure, and he hoped that Miss Granger had been able to get the infant to sleep so he could now administer it.

Even with the potion, Ares would have a difficult recovery ahead of him. Depending on how long he had been exhibiting symptoms, it could still take several days for the potion to completely heal him. Ideally it should be given within the first twenty-four hours, and he frowned as he realised that the infant had probably been sick for several days already. She had come to him almost two days prior for pain potion, and it was probably the Dragon Pox and not teething pain as she initially had thought. If he already had any of the blisters, it would complicate things considerably. He tried not to think too much about this as he approached her rooms.

He knocked quietly on the door, so as not to disturb the baby if she finally had calmed him down. After a couple of minutes, she still had not answered. Quietly turning the knob, he was surprised when it opened easily with just a small tingle of magic. She had set her wards to let him in. Shaking his head in surprise, he quietly walked through the door.

Her quarters were eerily quiet, and he walked through her sitting area and towards the bedroom. The door was only partially closed, and he slowly pushed it open, stopping and staring at the sight he found when he looked into the room.

The infant was no longer in the cot, but instead was sound asleep on the bed, and lying across from him was his equally asleep older sister and guardian. They were so close, they were almost touching, and the baby had a handful of her hair that he was holding tightly on to.

He stared at the pair for several seconds, knowing that was something he would not be comfortable doing if they had been awake. The baby had such similar features to her, and he cataloged the similarities as he looked at one and then the other. The baby had short hair, but it was already long enough to be curling in small rings on the top of his head. Severus was sure that had it been longer, it would curl exactly the way Miss Granger's hair did.

He slowly walked towards her side of the bed, not really wanting to disturb her sleep, but he knew that time was of the essence. He needed to get the potion into her brother. As he reached down to gently tap her on the shoulder, she turned slightly, and he ended up with his hand on her cheek.

He started to pull his hand away, but at the last moment he moved his fingertips across her cheek, gently stroking back and into her hairline. He grasped a curl, and twirled it into his fingers, marveling at how much softer it was then it appeared. His hand was still in her hair when he suddenly froze.

"Professor Snape?"

* * *

_**A/N... Lullaby lyrics are from **_**Golden Slumbers****_, which I found on babycenter dot uk. I am unfamiliar with this tune, but I wanted something just a bit differnet for this story._**


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